Bone Fever
by OmegaWolfStories
Summary: Papyrus is sick with a seriously bad virus unique to skeletons. All Sans wants to do is take care of his little brother but because of his low HP he is in danger of catching it and getting terminally ill, so they have to be kept apart from each other whilst the virus runs it's course...something that Sans cannot stand...
1. A Chill Down Your Spine?

**A/N: Yeah, another sick-fic from me (original, I know...) Anyway, enjoy! xoxo**

 **Chapter One - A Chill down your Spine?**

Sans opene his eye sockets and was surprisingly greeted by the morning sun gleaming in through his bedroom window. It was really strange, Papyrus usually woke him up before sunrise so as to get an early start on human-hunting patrols.  
Not thinking much of it, Sans rolled out of bed, a pile of dirty clothes gently cushioning his fall. He grabbed a clean shirt, a pair of clean shorts and his already-worn blue hoodie and put them on.  
Once he was dressed, he glanced over to his digital alarm clock, which was sat next to a couple of empty ketchup bottles and he couldn't believe it, it was 10:30 in the morning!

"That's weird..." he said quietly to himself  
Papyrus hadn't woke him up. Not only that, but they had missed work by 2 hours. Sans cringed as he thought of how annoyed Undyne probably was. He made his way out of his room and down the hallway to his younger brother's room.

"Hey, Pap?" he called as he tapped on the door. "Don't freak but we're late for work."

No answer.

"Papyrus?" he called again, slightly startled by the silence

"I'm getting dressed, Sans!" Papyrus called from behind his door.

"Well, c'mon..." Sans sighed "Undyne's already gonna kill us both for being late!"

Papyrus didn't answer, he simply replied with a muffled growl.  
Sans thought this was strange for his brother. He was usually a hyper ball of energy but this morning he seemed off. Truth be told, he was starting to get a little worried.

"Hey bro, you okay?" he asked through the wooden door "This isn't like you."

"I'm fine, Sans!" Papyrus replied "You just go get breakfast, i'll be down soon!"

"Okay...I'll be downstairs then..."

Just as Sans turned to go down the stairs, he heard an almighty thud coming from Papyrus' room. Without a second thought, he turned and ran straight back to his brother's door.

"Papyrus?!" he called as he forced the door open "Papy, you okay?!"

Once the door was forced open, Sans found his brother laying on the floor, still in his pyjamas shivvering in a pitiful heap on the floor beside his race car bed. Sans rushed to his side,

"Hey, hey hey, you alright buddy?" he fretted as he helped his younger brother sit up.

"Ow...my head..." groaned Papyrus as he leaned his entire weight into his brother's shoulder.

"C'mon, back to bed." Said Sans as he helped Papyrus back onto his bed.

The younger skeleton felt absolutly awful. He felt cold and hot all at the same time, and the funny, dizzy feeling in his skull had been there since the night before.  
Sans reached for the blanket and wrapped it around the taller skeleton who was now shivvering so much his bones could be heard rattling against each other.

"Heh, what's wrong?" smiled Sans "You gettin' **a chill down your spine?** "

"Haha...that one was pretty good..." Papyrus smiled weakly as he shuffled his way into a laying position, his blanket now wrapped around him like a big burrito.

"Wow." sighed Sans as he placed his hand against Papyrus' forehead "You must be sick if you laughed at one of _my_ jokes."

"I am NOT sick!" Papyrus declared as he attempted to sit up. "THE GREAT PAPYRUS NEVER GETS SICK!"

Suddenly, the room began to spin, and Papyrus felt himself falling back into his pillow.

"Okay..." he groaned painfully "I think I am sick..."

Sans simply smiled and tucked his brother into bed, making sure to cover every inch of him in order to keep him toastie and warm. Suddenly, Papyrus gripped his middle in pain, letting out a small but agonising whimper which made Sans lurch forward to grasp his brother's hand.

"Woah, Pap!" he gasped as he felt Papyrus squeeze his hand "You in pain?"

"My stomache..."

"Pap, we don't have stomaches, we're skeletons." Sans replied in confusion.

"Okay, smarty-bones..." Papyrus groaned "Whatever we have, its really hurting!"

Sans could see the strain in his brother's face. Skeletons or not something was hurting him, internally. Papyrus, still gripping onto his older brother's hand, began to toss and turn in the bed, crying out painfully.

"Sans!" he cried "Oh, god Sans! It's burning!"

Sans was begginning to panic. Something was seriously wrong with his brother, but what could he do? Papyrus sat up in the bed and began to rock back and forth, still crying out in pain as his brother watched helplessly.

"Okay, okay buddy look at me!" Said Sans as he gently cupped Papyrus' face in his hands, forcing him to look straight at him, "I'm here okay? You're gonna be okay, Pap!"

Without warning, Papyrus let out an agonising scream as he fell backwards onto the bed, still gripping where his stomache should be.

"It's-it's moving to my chest!" he cried as he began to claw at his ribcage "Sans, I think I'm dying!"

"Stay here!" ordered Sans. "I'm gonna call Alphys!".

He rushed out of the room and down the stairs, his brother's screams still echoing through the house. Hopefully, Alphys could give him some answers.


	2. Big Brother's Got You

**Chapter Two - Big Brother's got you.**

Sans dialed the number into his phone as fast as he could, which was actually quite difficult considering the fact that his hands were shaking so much he could barely hold the phone. He could hear his brother's agonising weeping coming from the upstairs bedroom, he must have been in so much pain, as he hardly ever cried over anything.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, pick up!" he fretted under his breath, holding the phone to his skull.

Suddenly, an answer:

 _"Hello?"_

"Alphys? It's Sans!" he gasped in an almost relieved tone

 _"Hey Sans, you okay?"_

"You gotta come, quick! There's something seriously wrong with Papyrus!" he begged, tears welling up in his eye sockets.

 _"Wrong? What do you mean?"_

"He's sick! Like, really, REALLY sick! He's upstairs screaming in pain!"

All of a sudden, a terrified scream errupted from upstairs, much louder than the ones before. This alone was enough to cause Sans to suddenly drop the phone, leaving Alphys on the other end of the line, desperatly calling his name.

 _"Hello? Sans, are you there?! Hello? Hello?!"_

But Sans wasn't listening. He had already ran up the stairs as fast as his boney legs could carry him, heading straight for Papyrus' room.  
He burst through the door only to find Papyrus unconscious on the floor covered in what appeared to be vomit. Without a second thought, he ran to his brother and fell to his knees beside him, gently resting his head on his knees.

"Pap?! Oh god, Papyrus?!"

No answer.

"Papy, c'mon buddy, you're okay!" cried Sans as he desperatly tried to wake his younger brother.

Somehow, he managed to drag the taller skeleton back to his bed, laying him gently against the soft, feathered pillow. He placed his hand on Papyrus' head and gasped as he felt the clammyness on his brother's skull.

"Papyrus?" he sobbed "Papyrus, you're really scaring me buddy..."

He could see his brother's chest rising and falling as he continued to listen to his raspy breathing. At least this meant he was still alive. Papyrus had a pained look on his face, which broke Sans' heart to see. He felt so helpless, what was happening, and what could he do to stop it? Suddenly, Papyrus began to stir.

"S-Sans...?" he gasped as he slowly opened his eye sockets.

"You're okay!" Sans sighed with relief as he gently placed his hand against his brother's boney cheek "Oh, buddy...you scared me..."

Sans glanced over to the puddle of vomit that lay upon the floor at the foot of the bed. It was so weird...Skeletons weren't supposed to be able to throw up. He remembered that he'd hung up on Alphys earlier, so he decided he'd better call her back. Maybe she'd be able to explain why he'd vomited. He was just about to get off of the bed when Papyrus gripped his jacket, preventing him from leaving the bedside.

"Please don't leave me." begged the younger skeleton

"Hey, c'mon bro, i'm just gonna make a phone call." Sans smiled, trying desperatly to reassure his little brother.

"B-but..."

"I'll tell you what, I'll bring the phone up here, okay?"

Papyrus nodded sadly and on that note, Sans went to fetch the phone.

It only took him a few seconds to fetch the phone, he wasted no time getting back to his brother who was still curled up in a ball under his blanket, shivvering and in an almost cold sweat.  
Sans noticed about 15 missed calls on his phone, he dialed Alphys' number once again.  
 _"Hello, Sans?!"_ came a panicked voice from down the phone.

"Yeah, it's me." he replied  
 _"Oh, thank god...I was worried when you didn't answer! Is Papyrus okay?"_

Sans glanced down at his brother who was now and emotional wreck, quietly sobbing into his pillow.

"No...no he's not...he passed out for a bit but he's awake now.." Sans sighed sadly as he gently rubbed his brother's shoulder.

 _"Oh gosh, this sounds serious...I'm actually on my way to your house now, i'll take a look at him when I get there. Are there any other serious symtoms?"_

"Uh...yeah...I'm not sure how but...he vomited."

There was a pause.

 _"Vomit? That's Strange-"_

"Yeah, I know." interupted Sans "Look, he's in bad shape and he's a little freaked out so I'm gonna get back to him. Bye Alphys, and thanks."

With that, he hung up.

He sat on the edge of Papyrus' bed and rested his hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Alphys is on her way, 'kay bro?" he smiled sweetly "She's gonna make you feel better."

Papyrus looked up at his brother, his entire body aching and shivvering. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes so he tried to hold it in, to no avail. He began to sob all over again. It killed Sans to see his brother in so much agony, and all he could do was comfort him.

"Hey c'mon bro, don't cry, you're gonna be okay..." he sighed

"It actually...felt like I was dying, Sans..." sobbed Papyrus as he forced himself into a sitting position "-and then, when _THAT_ came out of me..."

Sans looked over to where his brother was pointing; at that strange substance that he had thrown up, and sighed sadly.

"Hey, there, there..." he shushed as he pulled the taller skeleton into a warm hug "Don't you worry about that, i'll take care of you..."

Papyrus said nothing. He simply sobbed into his brother's shoulder, holding on to him like his life depended on it.  
Sans could tell how scared he was, he could feel him shaking as he began to cry loudly. He patted his back in an unsuccessful attempt to console him.

"It's okay Papy..." he said as he gently rocked his frightened little brother back and forth "It's okay, I'm here, big brother's got you..."

There was nothing more Sans could do.  
All he could do, was wait until Alphys got there.


	3. Worrying Symptoms

**Chapter Three - Worrying Symptoms.**

Alphys had arrived in Snowdin relatively quickly as Sans' phone call had got her extremely worried. As she made her way through the snow-covered streets, she wondered what could possibly be wrong with Papyrus? For as long as she'd known him he'd always been really healthy, sure he'd get a cold every now and again but nothing like what Sans had described over the phone. The vomiting worried her the most as skeletons weren't the same as other monsters biologically, so in theory, they shouldn't even be able to throw up. She was completely lost in her thoughts until she bumped into someone.

"Oh my gosh, i'm so sorry, I...Undyne?!" she gasped as she glanced upwards only to see the captain of the royal guard "what are you doing here?"

"Looking for Sans and Papyrus." answered Undyne in an annoyed tone "The slackers didn't report for guard duty this morning."

"Oh dear, you don't know?" gasped Alphys "Papyrus is sick. REALLY sick."

"He is?" Undyne asked, feeling almost guilty for calling him a slacker "What's wrong with him?"

"C'mon, I'm on my way to their place now to check on him." replied Alphys "I'll fill you in on the way."

By the time they reached the brothers' house, Alphys had told Undyne everything that Sans had told her. After hearing all of the worrying details, Undyne had now began to feel a little worried about her friend, so she had decided to stop by with Alphys to see how he was.  
Alphys knocked on the wooden door twice and it didn't take Sans long to answer.

"Thank god, you're here..." he sighed with a relieved expression on his face

"Hey Sans." smiled Undyne as the skeleton let them into his home "How's your brother doing?"

Undyne didn't really need to ask that question. One look at Sans' face and she could tell he was worried. He looked emotionally drained and she could tell he had been crying. She also noticed a weird stain on the arms of Sans' blue hoodie.

"He's getting worse!" Sans fretted "He's done nothing but throw up since I called you!"

"I'm not trying to be a smart-ass, but how can a skeleton...?" Undyne asked, confused.

"Doesn't matter!" replied Alphys "Where is he? In his room?"

Sans led Alphys and Undyne up the stairs and into Papyrus' room. The room was dark, the curtains closed and the only light available was the comforting glow radiating from a lamp on his computer desk. Alphys glanced over to Papyrus' race car bed whe she could see the sickly skeleton curled up underneath his blanket. He was asleep but not peaceful, he was shivvering and whimpering to himself.

"He can't get warm!" Said Sans as he rushed to his brother's bedside, tears welling up in his eyes. "he's in so much pain...I don't know what to do!"

Alphys made her way over to the bed and looked down at the shivvering Papyrus.

"How long has he been asleep?" she asked Sans, who at this point was a nervous wreck.

"He's only just fell back to sleep, he's been throwing up so much he's tired himself out!"

"Are there any other symptoms?"

"He said he had a burning pain that shot through his chest"  
Alphys had brought a briefcase full of medical supplies with her, just in case she needed them. She reached into the case and pulled out a medical container and a syringe with a really long thick needle.

"What the hell is THAT for?!" gasped Undyne, who was watching from a safe distance just in case Papyrus started throwing up again.

"I'm not gonna lie, these symptoms are...kind of worrying" replied Alphys. She glanced over at Sans who looked horrified at the sight of the needle. "Just to be safe, i'm gonna have to run some tests..."

"What kind of tests?" asked a worried Sans who had now gently grabbed his brother's hand.

"If it were any other monster, i'd run a blood test but since he's a skeleton, he doesn't have any blood." sighed Alphys "so that means..."

"What?" That means what?!" Sans asked worriedly

"We're gonna have to take a bone marrow sample instead...but Sans, i'm not gonna lie...it's gonna be painful for him..."

Sans could feel a lump forming in his throat. He wanted to cry but he held it in. He felt that he had no right to cry whilst his brother was the one who was suffering.

"Undyne, can you help me get the sample?" asked Alphys, she didn't want to ask Sans as she knew how traumatic this was going to be.

"No way!" snapped Undyne "I...I...hate needles..."

"Are you serious?" gasped Alphys "Okay, I guess I can-"

"I'll help..." Sans said sadly "What do I need to do?"

"Okay..." began Alphys "You need to sit him up and lift up the back of his shirt, we need to take it from his spine."

Sans looked absolutly horrified but if this was going to help his brother, he'd do it. He gently helped Papyrus, who was now half asleep, into a sitting position.

"Wha...what's going on...?" groaned Papyrus as Sans pulled him into a gentle hug.

"It's okay, buddy..." Sans reassured him as he slowly pulled up the back of his younger brother's red pyjama top, revealing his exposed spine "Alphys is here, she's gonna make you better. She's just gonna give you a little shot, okay?"

"I'm cold..." sobbed Papyrus as he buried his face into his brother's shoulder

"I know...I know..." shushed Sans

Alphys positioned herself behind Papyrus and gently placed her hand on his spine. She looked up at Sans, comforting his brother.

"Hey Sans..." she sighed "make sure you hold him still...this is really going to hurt..."

On that note, she stuck the needle into Papyrus' spine.

"AAH!" The sudden shock made Papyrus jump without warning but Sans hugged him tighter keeping him in place.  
Papyrus felt as if his spine was on fire as the needle was forced into his bone. He cried into his brother's shoulder.

"Ow! What is that?!" he wailed as he tried to break away from his brother's hug "Sans! It hurts!"

"Sshh! Ssh! It's okay Pap, just hold still okay?!" Sans tried is hardest to restrain his brother but he was squirming so much it was almost impossible "Alphys, how much longer?!"

"Just a few more seconds, almost got it!"

By this point, Papyrus was screaming. It was emotionally tearing Sans apart to put him through this.

"AAAHH! STOP! PLEASE!" wailed Papyrus "SANS! PLEASE!"

Finally, Alphys withdrew the needle which made Papyrus gasp with relief. He fell limply into his brother's arms and began to cry uncontrolably. Sans hugged Papyrus tightly and began rubbing his back in a desperate attempt to comfort him.

"It's okay Papy!" Sans also began to cry as he held his brother "I'm sorry buddy, don't cry!"

"I'm going to get this back to the lab" said Alphys as she placed the sample into the briefcase "I'll call you as soon as I get the results, it should only take a few hours."

"Okay." sighed Sans as he rocked his sobbing brother back and forth "What should I do for him while we wait?"

"Just try to keep him comfortable, and plenty of fluids." Alphys smiled

"Thank you Alphys..." Sans smiled back weakly.


	4. Sickly Sleepover

**Chapter Four - Sickly Sleepover.**

It had been a couple of hours since Alphys had taken a bone marrow sample from Papyrus and Sans had spent the best part of that time trying to calm him down after the traumatic ordeal. It was now the evening and Papyrus was still tucked up in bed, trying desperatly to keep warm, Sans had even gone downstairs to prepare a hot water bottle for him, but nothing seemed to warm the younger skeleton.  
Sans was at a loss for what to do. He'd never seen his brother get sick, heck, _he'd_ never been sick before, how could skeletons even get sick? Hopefully, the test results from Alphys would shed some light on this weird situation but until then, all he could do was comfort his brother.

Sans had made himself a makeshift bed next to Papyrus' race car bed, using a couple of blankets and a lot of pillows, and he was now settling down for what was bound to be a difficult night. He glanced over to Papyrus' alarm clock, which rested on the bedside table, and sighed. What was taking Alphys so long with the results?

"Sans?" Papyrus said in a weakened voice.

"Yeah bro?" replied Sans as he got up from his pile of blankets and rushed to the side of his brother's bed.

"You...you don't have to sleep here you know..." Papyrus smiled weakly, his voice shivvering as his teeth chattered "I'll be okay..."

"Hey, don't be silly!" Sans smiled as he gently placed his hand on his brother's skull "what kind of brother would I be if I left you by yourself when you're sick?"

Sans reached down, grabbed one of his pillows off of the floor and hugged it to his chest with a childish grin.

"Besides-" he said "It'll be fun, you know, like when we used to have sleep-overs as kids!"

This thought made Papyrus feel warmer, he smiled weakly as he watched his brother snuggle into his pile of blankets and pillows. As he watched Sans make himself comfortable, Papyrus noticed his brother fiddling with something under one of his pillows.

"Hey Sans?" he said as he gently pushed himself into a sitting position. "What's under your pillow?"

"Ah! Uhh...well, um..." Stuttered the older skeleten as a flustered look crept across his face

"Come on, tell me!" Papyrus smiled weakly "Please?"

Sans let out a defeated sigh. He reached under his pillow and pulled out a scruffy-looking old bear with a pastel-purple-coloured tint in it's fur. Seeing this, made Papyrus feel really nostalgic.

"Is that...Peanut?!" he giggled

"No!" gasped Sans "Well...I don't know...I can't remember it's name..."

Dispite the achey pains shooting through his body, Papyrus crawled over to the edge of his bed so he was eye level with his brother.

"Come on!" he smiled "Let me see!"

Sans didn't protest. He handed the plush over to his brother, so gently it was almost as if he was trying to avoid hurting the toy. Holding the small toy in his hands made Papyrus almost giddy. Sans had had toy since he was a child. He could always remember Sans carrying it around everywhere he went until he was around eight-years-old, when Sans began leaving it in the safety of his room.

"I...had no idea you still had this..." he smiled

"Aw, geez..." blush Sans as Papyrus handed the toy back to him "don't tell anyone, okay? You'll ruin my tough-guy image..."

Papyrus began giggling un-controlably.

"Nyeh-heh-heh! Tough-guy image?! Sans, you're like a giant marshmallow!"

Sans began laughing along with his brother.

"Well...I do have a bit of a **soft spot,** i've got to admit!"

Suddenly, Papyrus gripped his chest. He began whimpering as the pain started again. Sans leapt to his feet and helped his brother back under his covers.

"Hey, hey hey..." he shushed as he tucked him in "I didn't think my puns were THAT painful..."

"Not funny, Sans..." groaned Papyrus as tears began filling his eyes once more "Gah! I just want this to be over!"

Without warning, Papyrus began wretching. Sans grabbed the bucket that he had placed beside Papyrus' bed and placed it into his brothers lap. He rubbed his back as he began vomiting into the bucket.

"That's it Pap, let it out..." he shushed

As Sans rubbed his brother's back, his hand brushed up against the spot where Alphys had extracted bone marrow from his spine, causing him to wince in pain.

"Sorry!" gasped Sans as he grabbed the bucket and placed it back onto the floor "I'm sorry Pap!"

Papyrus began sobbing as he rested his head in his hands. Sans felt awful, so he pulled his brother close for a comforting hug. Papyrus gripped Sans' blue night-shirt as tight as he could. Crying into his brother's shoulder, he found himself unable to stop.

"I'm so scared!" he cried "I don't want to die, Sans!"

"You're not going to die!" Sans cried "Alphys will call soon, and we'll find a way to fix you, okay?!"

The brothers held onto each other, almost as if their lives depended on it. They cried together as they embraced. Sans felt helpless and afraid. What could he do? He had no idead what was wrong with his brother. How could he promise him that he was going to be okay when he didn't even know what was wrong with him?

"Papy...you're gonna be okay buddy..." he sushed "Stop crying, okay?"

Papyrus began to calm down, at least enough for Sans to be able to lay him back down onto his pillow. He then got under the covers with his brother and snuggled next to him.

"I'm so scared..." Papyrus sobbed softly as he felt himself drifting into sleep.

"Don't be." replied Sans as he held his brother's hand under the covers "You're gonna be fine."

On that note, both brothers drifted to sleep.


	5. It's Serious

**Chapter Five - It's Serious.**

Sans had only been asleep for about an hour when Alphys finally called. He got up out of bed, being very careful as to not wake his brother, and dragged himself to his cell phone which was laid carelessly in the middle of the bedroom floor.

"Hello?" he yawned as he rubbed his eye socket.

 _"Hey Sans, sorry if I woke you."_

"Nah, don't worry about it...are Pap's results back yet?"

 _"Y-yeah...it's...uh...can I come over?"_

"Really? Can't you tell me over the phone?"

 _"No...please Sans? It's urgent."_

"Yeah...okay...see ya soon I guess..."

 _"Bye"_

 _*beep*_

It only took Alphys about an hour to get to Snowdin, and to Sans' surprise, she had brought Undyne with her onece more. He invited them both inside and all three of them sat in the living room. As Sans served them some soda, he could tell something was wrong. He could sense an almost awkward vibe from his friends and Alphys looked as if she was about to cry. Undyne didn't look any less concerned either. Something was deffinatly off.

"So?" he asked awkwardly "What's wrong with him?"

Alphys sighed deeply.

"I don't really know how to say this..." she sighed "Papyrus has...a sort of virus. A virus that only seems to affect Skeletons."

"Okay...a virus...but it's not dangerous right?" ask Sans in a worried tone "He'll get over it, right?"

"Now you see...it could get worse and _become_ dangerous, but because Papyrus is quite young and a really healthy guy, he should be able to fight it. It'll take a lot out of him but with the right medication, someone like him could beat it..."

There was an awkward pause. Sans glanced over at Undyne who looked as if she was bracing herself for something.

"Alphys..." she said "Just tell him..."

"Tell me what?!" fretted Sans

"Well...the thing is... _Papyrus_ could beat this virus..." began Alphys "but...if _you_ caught it from him...it would almost deffinatly kill you."

Sans didn't even register what Alphys had said to him until she suggested the worst thing he'd ever heard.

"So Sans..." she sighed "I think, just until he gets better, you and Papyrus need to be kept apart."

Those words cut into Sans like a rusty blade. He didn't even have to think of a response, he already knew exactly what he wanted to say.

"No." he said abruptly "No way. NO WAY!"

Alphys tried to reach to her hand on his shoulder.

"Sans, i'm s-"

"I SAID NO!" he snapped, his deep voice echoing through the room, almost shaking the rafters of the house.

Undyne felt she needed to weigh in at this point, this was why she was here. She knew that Sans wouldn't take the news well and, despite the fact that he was quite a weak monster, he could get very dangerous when pushed over a certain point.

"C'mon dude, don't be like this..." she said as softly as she could "All Alphys means is that it's not safe for you to be around him right now...she's thinking of both of you..."

"I'M NOT LEAVING HIM!" roared Sans

"Sans, listen to me. I'll take him with me to my lab and i'll take really good care of him until he's better, okay?"

So many emotions were racing through Sans' head. He was upset, scared, upset and angry all at the same time and he just didn't know how to react. Even though he knew that Alphys would take care of him, he didn't want her to. Papyrus was HIS brother, HE should be the one to take care of him. He tried to calm himself down before he spoke again.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you, Alphys..." he sighed "but i'm perfectly able to help him through this..."

"You don't understand, the longer you stay with Papyrus, the more exposed to the virus you become." fretted Alphys "If you catch this, you could DIE, Sans..."

"I'll take that risk..." Sans said angrily under his breath.

That was it. Undyne had sat almost silent through the entire conversation; biting her tongue as she forced herself to be compassionate, but now she'd had enough. She jumped to her feet and rushed towards Sans, pushing him against the wall and looking at him straight in the eye.

"Listen here, moron!" she snapped "Have you any idea how selfish you sound right now?!"

Sans said nothing. He simply remained motionless as Undyne continued to lay into him.

"Think about it, bone-head!" she continued "If you stay with him, get sick and die where does that leave Papyrus?! He'll be by himself for the rest of his life and he'll have to live with the fact that his STUPID BROTHER died from catching some stupid skeleton flu from him!"

Her words were starting to get through. Tears slowly began to well up in his eye sockets and he could feel a lump forming in his throat. Seeing him like this made Undyne feel sympathy for him. She stopped pushing him against the wall and instead she gently placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I know you guys have never been apart..." she sighed "I know you want to take care of him but...going with Alphys is the best thing for him right now..."

"Please Sans?" added Alphys "for HIS sake?"

Sans could no longer hold it in, he broke down. He fell to his knees, cupped his face in his hands and began to cry. Undyne and Alphys felt so much pity for their friend and they almost felt guilty for the whole situation. Undyne felt the worst, but she knew he needed to hear this harsh truth. She wasn't the huggy-kind-of-person but something compelled her to pull the weeping skeleton into a gentle, friendly hug.

As touching as all this was, Alphys wanted to get Papyrus to the lab as soon as possible.

"I'll go get Papyrus ready to go, okay Sans?" she smiled as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Okay..." he sniffed, still crying into Undyne's shoulder.

"Try to keep him down here..." Alphys whispered into Undyne's ear.

She then made her way up the stairs.


	6. It Won't Be For Long

**Chapter Six - It won't be for long.**

Whilst Undyne was keeping Sans calm downstairs, Alphys made her way up to Papyrus' room. She entered through the door and found that Papyrus had been woken up by all the commotion downstairs. He was sat up in bed looking very weak and very concerned. No doubt, he had heard his brother raise his voice and was obviously startled.

"Hey Papyrus!" she smiled as she made her way to his bedside "how are you feeling?"

"I've been better..." he smiled weakly "is Sans okay? I heard him yelling."

"Yeah he's fine...hey, listen Pap, I'm gonna need you to come with me to the lab for a few days, okay?"

"Oh...um, okay..." he said quietly as his smile slowly faded "How come?"

Alphys took a deep breath as she sat at the foot of Papyrus' bed. She wanted to make this as quick and painless as she could; she knew he was already weakened from the virus and she didn't want to make him feel worse.

"You see...um..."

She looked up at him and saw a concerned, almost panicked look on his face, making her feel even more guilty about separating him from his brother. Even though he was a fully-grown skeleton, something about him always seemed child-like to her. Despite this, she felt compelled to be totally honest with him.

"Papyrus, I'm gonna be completely honest with you..." she sighed "I need you to come with me because...I'm worried about your brother. You know how...weak he is, right?"

Papyrus said nothing. He simply nodded in agreement.

"Well...you have a very contagious virus unique to skeletons. I'm not sure what causes it but all I know is that it's air-born and it almost attacks the cells that make up your bone structure." she continued "Someone like you can beat this illness but to someone like Sans...catching it could be...fatal..."

The news was a shock to Papyrus' system. Fatal? As in, death? Sans had been with him all day, breathing the same air, sleeping next to him. He could've easily have already caught whatever it was that he had. This thought alone made him worry.

"So, what you're saying is...I need to keep away from him or he could get sick and...die?" he asked sadly.

Seeing the realisation in his face made Alphys' heart sink. She felt awful about this whole situation but she knew it had to be done, and so did Papyrus.

"I'll go..." Papyrus whimpered as he began to tear up "if it'll stop Sans from getting sick...I'll go with you..."

Alphys breathed a sigh of relief. It was lucky that Papyrus wasn't as stubborn as his brother, even in a situation like this.

"Thank you Papyrus." she smiled "I'll help you pack some stuff to take with you, is there anything specific you need?"

Papyrus glanced down at the pile of pillows and blankets Sans had slept in.

"Yeah, just one thing…"

. . . . . . .

Downstairs, Undyne was sat with Sans on the brothers' sofa. She had made him a hot drink of tea but he wasn't drinking it, he just held the mug in his hands and stared at it's steaming contents. He'd barely said a word and, though she was worried for her friend, she decided to give him space to think. Still, she thought she should say something.

"He's gonna be okay…" she said solemnly "You know that, right?"

Just as she'd said that, footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. Alphys was helping a weakened Papyrus down the stairs, whilst carrying an orange sports bag full of his belongings. Undyne couldn't believe how weak he looked. Was this really the same, loud, out-going skeleton who woke her up for midnight training sessions? His usually bright eye sockets were almost glazed over and lifeless. He seemed totally out of it, that is until he glanced down at his brother. Sans and Papyrus' eyes met, causing the younger brother to force a comforting smile, in an attempt to convince Sans that he was okay.

"We're ready to go" said Alphys

"You…got all your stuff together, Pap?" Sans asked, trying to force himself to look as if this whole thing was killing him inside.

"Here, lemme carry your stuff for you!" smiled Undyne as she took Papyrus' bag from Alphys

"Thank you…are…you going to be okay by yourself, Sans?" he asked as he looked over at his brother, noticing tears in his eye sockets.

"Who me?" smiled Sans "Yeah, don't worry! You just focus on getting' better, okay buddy?"

It was killing Sans, letting his brother go when all he wanted to do was take care of him. The whole situation seemed so unfair. Alphys saw how much it was hurting both brothers, Sans was obviously faking that smile and Papyrus had obviously began to lose his nerve and had begun to tear up.

"Hey Sans…" whimpered Papyrus as he reached into the bag Undyne was now holding "Would…you mind if…?"

Sans looked down at the thing Papyrus had gotten from the bag. It was Peanut, that stupid old teddy bear with the gross-looking purple-tinted fur.

"You wanna take him with you?" asked Sans "Of course you can!"

All of this was getting too much for Papyrus. Though he was all for going with Alphys to keep Sans safe, the idea of being apart from his brother was beginning to frighten him a little. They had never been apart, ever since they were little kids, they'd never spent more than a day away from each other. He reached his arms out towards Sans, obviously requesting a hug but Alphys touched his arm gently stopping him.

"No Papyrus…" she sighed sadly "It's too-"

"Alphys." Undyne interrupted, "Let him…I mean…we don't know how long until…"

The brothers didn't need telling twice, without words, Sans rushed towards his brother and gently pulled him into a hug.

"Hey! Don't worry Papy!" Said Sans as they both began to cry into each other's shoulders "It won't be for long! You'll be back home before you know it!"

"I'll miss you, brother!" cried Papyrus as he squeezed his brother as hard as his strength would allow him.

Coming out of the hug, Sans gently placed his hand on Papyrus' cheekbone, looking at his brother straight in the face.

"Hey, you listen here…" he smiled as he wiped the tears from Papyrus' face "You don't have to miss me because I'm gonna call you every night to see how you are, and you've got Peanut! Just hug him and pretend it's me!"

"Guys…I don't wanna break this up, like…I REALLY don't but…we'd better go and get you settled, Papyrus…"

Alphys took a hold of Papyrus' arm and gently pulled him away from his brother, which made him begin to cry. It really upset Sans to hear his brother cry after him, and the fact that he'd begun to cry his name as he was walked away wasn't helping at all. He attempted to follow them but Undyne stopped him.

"Pap!" he cried as his brother disappeared through the front door

"Sans…trust me…he'll be fine…" smiled Undyne "He's a strong guy…and so are you, deep down…I know you two will survive this…"

"I know he's strong…" sobbed Sans "I'm not though…I don't know how I'm gonna cope without him…"


	7. Settling In

**Chapter Seven - Settling In.**

After an uncomfortable journey, Alphys and Undyne had successfully gotten Papyrus back to the lab.  
Carefully they escorted the skeleton into a small room which used to be used by Alphys as an extra bedroom when she would pull all-night research sessions as, prior to his their arrival, Alphys had prepared a bed for him, turning it into a makeshift recovery room.

"Here you go, Papyrus" smiled Alphys as she helped him into the bed "Let's get you comfortable."

Undyne took the sports bag full of Papyrus' stuff over to a closet that was in the far corner of the room and began to unpack it. As she placed his clothes into the closet, she eventually came across Sans' old teddy bear.

"Hey Pap, what's this?" as she handed him the bear

"Oh…it's Sans'…" he said sadly as he glanced down at the purple plush "He let me borrow it for a while…"

Mentioning Sans' name suddenly made Papyrus feel almost hollow. It had just dawned on him that, for the first time in his entire life, he was apart from his older brother. His chest began to feel tight, which might have just been another symptom of his illness, but he put it down to being upset. He could feel himself beginning to tear up but managed to stop himself from fully bursting into tears.

"I hope he's going to be alright…" he sighed "We've…never been apart before…"

"Hey, don't worry Pap!" Undyne smiled sympathetically as she placed her hand on his shoulder "if you want, I can check in on him every now and again."

"Thank you, Undyne…"

Suddenly, Papyrus began to feel the same stabbing pain in his chest that he'd felt before. Gripping his ribs, he cried for Alphys to get him a bucket as he could feel himself beginning to wretch.  
Alphys grabbed the metal litter bin that was sat in the room and handed it to Papyrus. After sitting with his head hanging over it for a few seconds, he began to throw up.  
Undyne was horrified. As he vomited, he was screaming, clearly in a lot of pain. She'd never seen him so vulnerable.  
Alphys was at his side, rubbing his back in a desperate attempt at comforting him. It was clear to her now, it was definitely Bone Fever, the name she had decided to give this strange, skeletal sickness.  
After about a minute, Papyrus' stomach had settled and he'd finally stopped vomiting as he fell back against the pillow and began to sob as he hugged his knees to his chest.

"There, there…" shushed Alphys as she wrapped her arm around his shoulder, "It's over…"

"It's not over!" he cried "It'll come back!"

Undyne noticed that, in all of the commotion, Papyrus had dropped the teddy bear. She picked it up and smiled sympathetically as she handed it to him.

"I just…" he sobbed as he hugged the bear close to his chest "I just want my brother!"

"I know, buddy…" sighed Undyne

After a while, Papyrus had finally fallen asleep.  
After making sure the room was warm enough for him, Alphys and Undyne left him to sleep and made their way back to the lab entrance.  
The image of Papyrus in so much played over in Undyne's head, and if it was that upsetting for her to see, she could only imagine what it did to Sans.

"God…that was awful…" she sighed sadly

"Yeah, it seems to be quite an aggressive virus…" agreed Alphys as she adjusted her glasses "could you imagine what it would've done to Sans if he'd caught it? He'd have had no chance…"

Listening to her friend talk, Undyne could almost hear a hint of guilt in her voice. Almost as if she was trying to convince herself that what she was doing was the right thing.

"Do you…" began Alphys "Do you think it was a good idea separating them?"

"You said it yourself, Sans would've been in danger if you didn't…" replied Undyne

"I know…I just feel so bad for Papyrus…he must be terrified…"

Undyne reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone as she had a suspicion that Sans had tried to get in touch, and she was right. There was a single text message from Sans which read: _"Is he okay".  
_ She had no clue how to answer, she didn't want to lie but she didn't want to worry him either.

"I think I'm gonna go and check on Sans…" she sighed as she text him back "fill him in on what's going on and see how he is, y'know…"

"Good idea…" smiled Alphys as she escorted Undyne to the front door of the lab. "Just, tell him that we got him settled and that I'll call him when he's awake."

"Will do…" Undyne smiled back.

On that note, she left for Snowdin.

 **(( A/N: Sorry it's been ages since my last update, I've been very busy with work! Only a short chapter but HOPEFULLY my next chapter (another short one) will get uploaded before I head off for work. Later! Xoxo))**


	8. It Seems Empty

**Chapter Eight - It Seems Empty**

The house seemed utterly silent, and Sans couldn't stand it.  
He was just sat silently on his brother's bed, looking around his room, almost as if to feel closer to him. It was comforting but oddly painful as everything in that room reminded him of Papyrus. His race car bed, his posters, his collection of action figures and even all of the puzzle books which were arranged in alphabetical order on his bookshelf.  
He sighed sadly as he curled up into a ball on the bed, glancing over to the bedside table only to see a framed photograph of him and Papyrus on his most recent birthday.

"God, I miss you already, buddy…" he whimpered to himself.

Upon hearing a knock on the front door, Sans forced himself to his feet and made his way downstairs.  
He opened the door to find Undyne stood on his doorstep, holding what appeared to be a take-out bag from Grillby's.

"Hey!" she beamed "I thought you'd be hungry!"

Sans simply smiled as he gestured for her to come in, which she did.  
Placing the bag on the kitchen table, she began to unload the food as Sans retrieved plates from the cupboard.  
"Hope you're hungry, I got a ton of food!" she smiled

"I'm not really" he sighed "but I'll still have some, thanks Undyne…"

Once all of the food was plated up, they both sat at the table and began tucking into some very greasy burgers.  
Undyne hated this kind of food but she knew it was Sans' favourite so for him, she'd endure it, even if it did feel as if her arteries were clogging up more and more with each bite she took.

"Heh…Pap would throw a fit if he knew I'd brought this greasy crap into the house…" Sans smiled sadly

"Haha, yeah!" Undyne giggled "he's on that weird health-food diet he found on the Under-net isn't he?"

"Heh, yeah…"

A few seconds of silence followed.

"So, um…how is he?" asked Sans

"He's settled…" smiled Undyne "He'd fallen asleep when I'd left."

Hearing this set Sans' mind at ease, slightly but it still didn't stop his worrying.

"That's good…" he said sadly "He'll sleep it off, I guess…"

As he spoke, he felt an un-comfortable tugging feeling in his chest. He could feel himself beginning to tear up again but he was determined not to cry anymore. In his mind, he was just being selfish. Papyrus was the one going through all the pain. _HE_ was the one with the life-threatening virus.  
Noticing that Sans was clearly trying to hold back his emotions, Undyne was at a total loss at what to say to him.

"Look, I'm sorry Sans…" she sighed as she awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck "I'm really bad at stuff like this, I really only came over to let you know he's okay…"

"It feels so empty…" Sans said suddenly, catching her almost off-guard "Without him here…it doesn't really feel like home anymore…"

"C'mon, man…" sighed Undyne, trying to be as sympathetic as she could "He's going to be fine, he just needs time to get better… he'll be okay without you for a couple of days…"

That's it, Sans couldn't hold it in anymore; the tears started to fall again. He turned to face Undyne, who by this point was starting to feel really awkward, and looked her dead in the face.

"Will he?!" he snapped "How do you know?! We've NEVER been apart! What if he needs me?!"

"A-Alphys is there…" stuttered Undyne, almost taken aback at how angry Sans was getting "If…he needs anything she'll-"

"I'm his brother, dammit!" cried Sans as he slammed his hands against the table, causing all of the plates and cutlery to thrash against the wooden surface. "What if he starts throwing up again? What if he's in pain? He's not gonna want Alphys, he's gonna want me!"

Undyne was, once again, at a loss for words. As Sans cupped his skull in his hands, he sobbed heavily, prompting her to go over to him and place a hand on his shoulder.

"I promise…he'll be fine Sans…" she sighed as Sans continued to cry "Alphys said she'll call when he wakes up so you can talk to him, okay?"

He said nothing. He simply nodded sadly as he had to accept the fact that this was how it was going to be for a while and that it was the best thing for Papyrus.


	9. Early Morning Phone Call

**Chapter Nine - Early Morning Phone Call**

Once she was satisfied that Sans had calmed down enough, Undyne went home, leaving the skeleton to his thoughts.  
It had been a long, emotionally draining night and Sans had decided that it was time for him to try and get some sleep, as it was almost morning.  
Usually, he'd have no trouble falling to sleep. As soon as his head would hit the pillow, he'd be out like a light, but not tonight.  
He'd decided to sleep in Papyrus' room, not only did it make him feel closer to his brother, the bed was actually more comfortable so he thought that that would help him to drift off, and sure enough it did. He'd just began to slowly drift into sleep when he was suddenly startled by his phone's annoying ringtone.  
Without any hesitation, he answered.

"Hello?" he answered, as his nerves got the better of him he began to shake with anticipation.

" _Hi Sans"_ It was Alphys _"Sorry it took me so long to call."_

"Is Pap okay?!" Sans fretted

" _Yeah, he's awake now."_ she replied _"You wanna talk to him, I have a webcam so you can see him too if you'd like."_

"Yes please…" he replied, almost in a whimper

" _Okay. I'm gonna hang up and get my laptop set up, I'll be a few seconds. See you soon."_

With that, she hung up.  
Wasting no time, Sans leapt from the bed and ran towards Papyrus' computer. Quickly logging into the Underground's video chatting programme, Sans sat anxiously awaiting Alphys' call.  
He could feel his chest tightening up as he eagerly awaited seeing his brother, wondering how he was.  
He didn't have to wait long. As soon as the call window popped onto the screen he wasted no time in answering the call.  
His heart began to rattle against his ribcage as Papyrus' face appeared in the call window. He didn't look good…

"Hey Pap!" he said as he forced a comforting smile "How are you?"

" _Miserable, if I'm honest…"_ Papyrus grumbled as he rubbed the side of his face _"But I'm happy to see you!"_

"I'm happy to see you too, bro!" smiled Sans as tears began to form in his eye sockets "Is Alphys taking good care of you?"

" _Yeah…"_ Papyrus smiled back _"you don't need to worry, I'm okay!"_

As his brother talked, Sans could hear an emotional crack in his voice. He was clearly putting on a brave face for him, trying in vain not to make him worry.

"Bro…it's okay…" Sans sighed "you don't need to do that…"

" _No, really! I'm fine…"_ tears began to appear _"I'm okay…"_

Sans could see that his brother wanted to cry but was holding in his emotions. It killed him to see him bottle everything up, causing himself more upset than he was already feeling.

"C'mon Pap…it's me…" he sighed "You can just tell me if you miss me…"

Hearing this clearly got through to Papyrus, as he began to softly sob as soon as he heard those words.

" _I…I'm sorry…"_ he spluttered as he wiped the tears from his eyes _"of course I miss you…I just…don't want you to worry about me!"_

Sans wanted nothing more than to reach through the screen and hug his brother.

"Of course I'm gonna worry about you, **numb-skull** …" Sans giggled softly "You're my little brother, it's my job to worry about you!"

" _I want to come home…"_ Papyrus said sadly

"I know, buddy…but it's not forever… Sans said as he put on a comforting smile "Remember, you can call me any time you like, I'll ALWAYS answer. I promise."

As they talked, Sans could see that Papyrus was still in a great deal of pain. As he cried Sans could see the strain and weakness in his face indicating that this virus was still taking it's toll on his body. Though he wished he could talk with his brother forever, he decided it'd be better to cut the conversation short.

"Listen, buddy…" he smiled softly "It's almost morning and I'm willing to bet _neither_ of us have gotten any sleep…maybe we'd better talk tomorrow?"

" _Please…just a little longer?"_ Papyrus whimpered weakly

"Call me as soon as you wake up, okay? I'll answer, no matter what I'm doing or where I am. I promise!"

Hearing those words made Papyrus feel slightly better.

" _Okay…"_ he sniffed

"Give the laptop to Alphys okay? I just need to talk to her real quick."

" _Yeah…goodnight, Sans…love you, brother…"_

"I love you too, Papy!" Sans smiled, his heart melting "Get some sleep, buddy."

With that, Papyrus handed the laptop he was using over to Alphys, who had been standing by the bed listening to the conversation. As Papyrus laid himself down to go to sleep, Alphys took the laptop into the next room, so as not to disturb the ill skeleton.

" _Hi Sans."_ she smiled as she sat at her desk and her face came into the frame _"You doing okay?"_

"Just wanted to say thanks for taking care of him…" Sans smiled "Seriously, it means a lot…"

" _It's no trouble at all! What are friends for?"_ she gasped _"And I'll keep you posted on how he's doing! Want me to get him to call you tomorrow?"_

"Yes please…"

" _Okay! Go get some sleep. Goodnight Sans!"_

"Goodnight Alphys…and thanks…"


	10. A Rough Day

**Chapter Ten - A Rough Day.**

Papyrus had woken up aching even more than the day before. His skull was throbbing, his bones were shaking and he'd never felt more exhausted.  
If he was totally honest with himself, as grateful as he was to Alphys for taking care of him, all he truly wanted was his brother. It took every ounce of restraint to stop himself from calling Sans as it was still rather early in the morning and he knew that he liked to sleep in. Instead, he decided that today, he was going to stop feeling sorry for himself and try to get himself better, so he managed to pull himself out of bed and onto his feet.  
As he stumbled over to the door, he felt as if his feet were working against him. Despite feeling like death warmed over, he took a deep breath and made his way through the door and into the lab where Alphys was sat at her desk, typing away on her laptop.  
Upon hearing the door, she turned to look at him and gasped.

"Papyrus! W-w-what are you doing up?!"

"I got tired of laying in bed all of the time…" he sighed as he made his way over to a small two-seater sofa which Alphys often used as a napping area

Looking at him, Alphys could see that he shouldn't be out of bed, he looked worse than before. His eyes seemed hollow and lifeless and it was clear to see with the way his chest was rising and falling, that he was struggling to breathe.

"You really shouldn't be moving around…" sighed Alphys as she made her way over to the sofa then sitting next to him. "I don't know how much more strain your body can take…"

"Thank you for worrying about me but…I don't see how moping around in bed all day can be good for me…maybe all I need is a little bit of food and fresh air"

She still didn't feel right about it but she sort of agreed with him. Maybe it would be good for him to eat and get his strength up.

"Yeah, okay…" she smiled as she gently placed her hand on his shoulder "Pop-Tarts okay?"

Papyrus smiled and nodded and on that note, Alphys made her way over to an unkempt desk which housed a frequently used microwave and a couple of boxes of instant ready-meals such as instant ramen and pre-packaged sandwiches.

"Do you wanna call your brother today?" she asked as she placed two pop-tarts into the microwave. "I bet he'll be happy to hear from you."

"Yeah, but I'm gonna let him sleep in…" Papyrus replied "He needs to sleep in when he hasn't been sleeping through the night."

"I think it's sweet how much care about each other…" Alphys said awkwardly whilst waiting for the microwave to finish.

"He's the only family I have…" smiled Papyrus as he pictured his older brother's big, dumb smile in his mind "He's taken care of me for as long as I can remember…"

Talking about Sans made him feel very strange. As he talked about him, he could picture all of the time he was there for him. Like the time he had fallen out of a tree and Sans caught him before he hit the snowy ground, and the time he had heard someone making a mean comment about him and Sans spent the whole of that day convincing him that he was the coolest monster in the underground and that those "jerks didn't know what they were talking about". As he thought about all of these things, his smile turned into a frown as more memories sprung through his mind.

"That being said…" he sighed sadly " _He's_ really the one who needs taking care of…"

Now he was remembering all of the times Sans had night terrors, seemingly hysterical fits of sadness, anger and fear plaguing his sleep at least once or twice a month, or the odd time he'd break into a seemingly random panic attack in the middle of the woods. He was the only one who could calm him down when he got into that state.

"You _both_ need taking care of…" Alphys smiled "That's why it's good that you have each other…"

 _*ping!*_ The microwave shut off, signalling that it had finished. She was just getting the food from inside it when she was startled with a large, sickening _THUD_ coming from behind her.  
To her horror she saw Papyrus collapsed to the floor, seizing violently.

"Oh God, Pap?!" she gasped as she knelt beside him "Papyrus?!"

No reply. Trying not to panic, she went with her gut instinct and grabbed a pillow from the sofa and gently slid it under his skull, cushioning any impact against the hard tile floor. Knowing that she shouldn't move him, she knew that all she could do was talk to him and comfort him.

"Papyrus, can you hear me?" she soothed as she gripped his hand "You're having a seizure but you're gonna be okay, I'm here for you!"

Tears began welling up in the skeleton's eye sockets as he rode through the fit, he could clearly hear her, she began to talk to him some more.

"Come on, just ride through it!" she said as he gripped her hand tighter "You're strong! You can do this! I'm right here, okay?!"

The fit lasted for around a minute and a half before he finally snapped out of it. Once he'd come to his senses, he felt a shooting pain drill through his skull but that wasn't the worst part.

"M-my arms…" he whimpered "I-I c-c-can't move my arms!"

He began to cry hysterically, struggling to breathe he began to panic.

"Okay, try to stay calm Papyrus!" panicked Alphys as she gently shifted her knees underneath his skull for support "You've only just come out of it, just keep trying, it'll be okay."

It was almost as if his arms weren't his anymore. No matter how hard he tried and how much he willed them to, they would not move. Staying calm wasn't an option, he continued to panic, his breathing getting sporadic and heavy, signalling the start of a panic attack.  
Alphys was at a loss for what to do. She had a feeling that his arms were going to be fine but there was no way of reasoning with him whilst he was in such a state. She thought of the only thing she could to calm him down.  
She reached into her lab coat pocket and began to dial Sans' number.  
He answered straight away.

"Hello, Sans?!" she yelped

Papyrus could hear his brother's voice over the phone.

" _Alphys?! What's wrong?! Is Pap okay?!"_ fretted Sans over the phone, he could obviously hear Papyrus crying.

"Listen, don't panic but…he's just come out of a seizure and he's obviously a little upset right now…"

" _Oh my God, a seizure?!"_

"Here, I'm gonna let you talk to him, see if you can calm him down…" she said as she held the phone up to Papyrus' skull.

" _Paps?!"_ piped Sans' terrified voice through the phone

"Sans!" wailed Papyrus who had now worked himself into such a state he could barely see straight. "I can't m-m-move my arms! Help me!"

" _It's okay, buddy just breathe in and out…in and out…"_

Still crying, he followed his brother's instructions, his ribcage rising and falling with each laboured breath he took. Small whimpers decorated his breaths as he clung to his brother's comforting voice.

" _That's it…I'm right here okay? I'm not going anywhere until you can move again."_

"I'm so scared, Sans!" cried Papyrus as he still continued to attempt to move his arms "I want you here, I don't want to…go…by myself…"

" _Go? Go where? Die you mean? Oh, Papy, you're not gonna die, bro you're gonna be okay! You're the Great Papyrus! It's gonna take more than some stupid illness to finish you off!"_

Hearing his brother's voice must've helped because as he intently listened to his words, without knowing it, his fingers began to twitch.

Over the phone, Sans could hear his brother beginning to calm, so he carried on talking.

" _Remember how I always tell you that you can do absolutely anything? Well it's true! You're the strongest, coolest and bravest dude in the entire Underground, maybe even the whole world! There's no way this virus is ever gonna beat you, in fact, I bet when you get better you'll be even stronger for beating it!"_

Papyrus' forearm began to slowly lift from the floor. He began to smile through the tears feeling a huge sweep of relief, but Sans wasn't done yet.

" _You're the best thing in my entire life, Papyrus! You're my baby brother! You're the absolute best part of me, better than me in every way possible so, stop crying, put all of your will-power into it and move those lanky arms of yours! I believe in you!"_

It took every ounce of might left in him but Papyrus had done it. With his brother's help, he began to move both of his arms, slowly but surely. His tears of fright had faded into tears of relief as he managed to pull his right arm up to take the phone from Alphys and hold it himself.

"I did it!" he cried, almost proudly

" _You see?! I knew you could do it, bro!"_

"Thank you, Sans…" smiled Papyrus as he wiped the tears from his face, his head was still spinning and it hurt so bad he could almost feel his skull pulsating.  
Alphys could see how much he was suffering.

"Come on, Papyrus" she smiled as she helped him to his feet. "Lets get you back to bed, you can bring the phone with you, okay?"

With that, she led him back to the bed. As she helped him onto the bed, he gripped the phone to his skull. Sans wasn't saying anything but just knowing he was there on the other end of the line was enough to give him comfort.

" _You okay now, Pap?"_ Sans asked

"Yeah…" sighed Papyrus "thank you…for everything, Sans…"

" _Don't sweat it, bro! You want me to stay on the line with you for a little bit?"_

"Yes please…" Papyrus smiled as he snuggled further under the blanket.

After about and hour of just talking to each other, Papyrus found himself drifting into sleep, his brother's soothing voice still in his ear. Once his parts of the conversation had faded into simple noises in response, Sans could tell that his brother was falling asleep. He carried on talking until he fell silent.

" _Sleep tight, Pap…love you buddy…"_

Alphys gently took the phone from the sleeping skeleton and placed it against her ear.

"Are you still there, Sans?" she asked as she quietly crept out of the room.

" _Yeah, I'm here."_ he replied _"what the hell happened? Why did he have a seizure?!"_

"I'm not sure…could be the virus causing it, could be his body trying to _fight off_ the virus or it could've been something as simple as being caused by his high fever…"sighed Alphys

" _I hate not being able to be there with him… how long do you think it'll take before he gets better?"_

"It's hard to say…" she sighed "He's still really weak…and if he's gonna start having seizures…I'm going to have to keep a closer eye on him…"

A few seconds of silence followed.

" _Alphys…listen…"_ Sans said, almost in a whisper. _"I know the risks…I know what would happen if I got sick but…If he has another seizure…if he gets any worse than he is now… I'm coming over to be with him."_

"Sans…I really don't-"

" _Call me when he wakes up. See ya later."_

With that, he hang up.


	11. Taking it's Toll

**Chapter Eleven - Taking it's Toll.**

Sans had just finished his phone call with Alphys and Papyrus and was feeling worried after hearing his brother in so much distress.  
Papyrus had never had seizures before, heck, Sans never knew _anyone_ who had seizures, so he was unsure of what to think.  
Maybe, Alphys was right. Maybe it was simply caused by his fever and was nothing to worry about. Still…he couldn't help but think that it might be more…  
He glanced at the time on his cell phone and let out an almost annoyed growl. He was supposed to be reporting for guard duty in about 10 minutes and he was only half dressed.  
Cell phone still in hand, he jolted upstairs and rushed into his room. He began to dig through the pile of clothes in the corner of the room, throwing on a clean shirt, a pair of clean socks and his blue jacket which was actually hung up, albeit on the closet door knob. He glanced outside his bedroom window and noticed that it had been snowing pretty heavily during the night.

"Better find some better shoes…" he grumbled to himself as he looked down at the well-worn, off-white slippers on his feet.

As he began to rummage around the almost-chaotic mess that was his room, looking for the pair of converse he usually wore on cold days, Sans suddenly began to feel a little bit dizzy. He'd managed to find one before having to sit down for a second. He rubbed his eye-sockets, which luckily stopped the room from seemingly spinning.

"Man, that's weird…" he said as he got back to his feet "must be all of that sleep I've missed out on…"

His cell-phone, which had been tucked away in his jacket pocket, suddenly began to vibrate. Thinking of his brother, he pulled it out and checked it as quick as he could, almost in a blind panic, but luckily it was only a text from Doggo informing him that Undyne had already begun the guard's debriefing for that morning.

"Crap, I'm late!" he gasped as he discarded the converse idea and threw his scruffy, old slippers back on. He knew he'd be later if he walked, luckily, he had his shortcuts.

\- On the outskirts of Snowdin Village -

Sans had made it to the meeting just in time. Undyne had only begun debriefing the guard on the Human Threat they would be up against. As she talked, Sans could feel himself becoming more tired and lethargic. His bones almost felt hollow and cold as he continued to rub his eye-sockets in a desperate attempt to keep himself awake. Thankfully, Undyne was quick with this speech and was ready to dismiss them and send them all to their posts.

"And remember, no slacking off, people!" she commanded "Remain at your posts and stay diligent!"

As she spoke, she glanced over at Sans, who had a vacant look in his eyes, clearly and obviously, he had a lot on his mind and NONE of it was about human-hunting. She decided to play the sympathetic card.

"As you all have probably noticed, Papyrus isn't here with us today…unfortunately he's really sick and needs his rest." she sighed sadly as she walked behind Sans, gently placing both her hands on his shoulders in a comforting manner "So Sans, if you need to call him or he calls you for ANYTHING, you don't even have to tell me, just let one of these nerds know and they'll cover for you, okay?"

"Thanks Boss…" he smiled

After the meeting, Sans had made his way to his post.  
Of course, his head wasn't entirely in his job today. Every few minutes, he checked his phone for any missed calls or messages from Alphys. As he leaned against the little wooden table in his guard station he could feel himself drifting into sleep, which in truth was nothing new to Sans as he often fell asleep whilst at work but today, this felt different. Not only did he feel tired, he felt uncomfortably tired. He felt as if the cold was getting to his bones as the very sensation of his clothes rubbing against his arms felt almost prickly. He put it down to not getting enough sleep so he decided to let himself drift a little. Given the circumstances, he knew Undyne wouldn't mind. He was just about to close his eyes when the sensation of his phone vibrating in his pocket startled him awake. Without hesitation, he answered.

"Hello?!" he fretted

" _Hi Sans, it's Alphys. Papyrus wants to talk to you, is that okay?"_

"Yeah…yeah put him on!"

" _Hello, Sans?"_ piped a weakened voice on the other end of the line

"Hey buddy, you doing okay?" he could tell by his voice that he wasn't doing well at all

" _I guess so."_ sighed Papyrus _"I've had a couple of hours sleep…"_

"That's good, pal!" Sans smiled "So…uh…you've not had any…um…"

" _No…no seizures…"_ Papyrus replied _"I don't really wanna think about that right now…makes me worry…you're at work now, right?"_

"Heh, yeah if you wanna call it that!" Sans laughed nervously "I was just about to take a quick nap if I'm honest!"

" _Don't you dare!"_ Papyrus croaked _"You need to be on the lookout for humans!"_

Sans began to giggle. Typical Papyrus! All his heart and ambition was in the Royal Guard, even when he was suffering!

" _What's so funny?! I'm being serious!"_

"I know, I know, you're the boss!" Sans laughed.

As Sans talked, he could see Undyne approaching. He politely signalled for her to wait until he finished his conversation with his brother.

"Is that all you called me for?" smiled Sans "To make sure I wasn't slacking?"

" _Yes…and no…"_ Papyrus replied _"Just missing you a little…"_

Hearing this made Sans' heart sink.

"I miss you too, Pap" Sans smiled sadly "Listen bud, I gotta go, the boss lady is here, but I'll call you as soon as I get home okay?"

"Hi Papyrus" Undyne called down the phone "Hope you're feeling better"

" _Thank you!"_ Papyrus called back weakly _"Okay, brother. Talk to you later!"_

"Love you, bro!" smiled Sans "Talk soon!"

With that, the phone call ended.  
Undyne looked over at Sans and could see that he wasn't himself. He looked cold, tired and paler than usual, clearly the worry of what was happening with his brother was taking its toll not just emotionally, but physically too. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"How's he doing?" she asked as she leaned against the wooden walls of the guard station.

"He had a seizure this morning." Sans replied bluntly "Alphys doesn't know what caused it…"

"Oh god…he's all good now though, right?" she fretted, worrying for her friend

"Yeah, he's okay now but…" Sans rested his face in his hands, in an attempt to hide tears which were forming in his eye sockets "I'm not coping well with this…I've not slept properly since he got sick because all I can do is worry about him…"

Undyne felt awful for him. She knew she couldn't let him worry himself to death.

"Listen Sans…" she sighed "I think it'd be best if you stayed home until Pap is back home…"

Sans' eyes widened as he looked over to Undyne. He had no clue what to make of it, she never let _ANYONE_ have time off. Though he loved the idea of having some time to rest, he was slightly hesitant.

"Thanks but, maybe I'd be better off at work…" he smiled "Keep my mind busy, 'ya know?"

"No offence Sans but, you look horrible." she said bluntly "You NEED to rest to keep your strength up!"

"Undyne, I'm fine, really!"

Without warning, she grabbed a hold of the arm of his jacket, yanking him out of his guard station.

"You're going home, Sans!" she commanded "That's an order from your leader!"

He knew that it was pointless arguing with her. On the command of the Royal Guard's leader, he made his way back home.


	12. Falling

**Chapter Twelve - Falling**

Two more days had passed since Papyrus fell ill and he felt that his health was finally improving, though only slowly.  
His appetite was returning, he was moving around the lab more and his phone calls with Sans were becoming more frequent and longer, he hadn't vomited for days and was finally feeling hopeful of returning home to his brother.

Alphys was satisfied enough with his improvements to begin leaving him alone for short periods of time so today, she asked him if he was okay enough to be alone for a few hours while she ran errands in Hotland.

"I'll be fine!" he smiled

"A-are you sure?" she asked

"Yeah, I'm feeling better today!"

"Okay…well…I won't be long, just make sure you don't do more than you can handle."

"I'm just going to sit and watch TV, I'll be fine." Papyrus reassured her

On that note, Alphys left.

Papyrus spent most of the afternoon watching TV in bed and after a while, he felt that he needed the bathroom. He pushed himself out of the bed and onto his feet, despite feeling better he still felt rather weak so his legs almost buckled underneath him as soon as they hit the floor. The bathroom was downstairs on the lower level of the lab.  
As he made his way towards the stairs, something disheartening began to happen; his head began to spin again.  
Ignoring the spinning sensation in his skull, he forced himself forward. That is, until the headache started.

"Oh no…" he whimpered, this headache felt all-too familiar.

It was the same headache that ripped through his skull before he had the seizure. He should've stopped walking right there and then. He should have turned around and got straight back into bed but it was like he was on auto-pilot. His legs carried him onto the top step on the staircase.  
He began to descend the stairs when suddenly, he could feel himself falling as he stumbled. Hitting every step on the way down.  
His vision was blurred. He placed his hand against the top of his skull and felt a small but noticeable crack. He tried to catch his breath when suddenly, he felt the familiar pain tearing through his chest. He desperately clawed at his ribcage before throwing up for the first time in days.  
The panic began to set in and he could only think of one thing.

"Sans!" he cried as he glanced at the cell phone sitting on the messy desk where Alphys' computer sat.  
With every ounce of strength he had in him he pulled himself along the floor towards the phone and desperately reached up to the desk to reach it. Luckily, he managed to knock the phone onto the floor.  
Gripping the phone in his hand, he was about to call Sans' number when he could feel himself beginning to heave once more.

"Sans!" he wailed almost as if he expected his brother to run to his aid

He felt as if he could actually speak as he could feel all of the tell-tale symptoms of an on-setting panic attack.  
Instead of calling Sans, he opted for texting. He managed to type one word and click the 'send' button before everything went black.

 **Back at the skeleton's house** , Sans was napping on the sofa when his phone buzzed with a message. He reached into his pocket and quickly accepted the message as soon as he saw that it was from his brother, what he read made his heart sink.

" _Falling"_

"Oh…god…no…" he whimpered

Falling. That word made Sans sick to his very core. That was the word monsters used to describe…dying. That was the word used for them 'falling down' then turning to dust. Papyrus was…falling? The realisation sank in. He was losing him. He was losing his little brother.

"No, no no no, NO!" he panicked as he ran out the door into the cold, snowy streets of Snowdin town.  
He tried over and over to call his brother but there was no answer. He was almost blinded with panic, as he ran, he bumped into no ends of monsters until he finally bumped into Undyne with such force, he tripped and fell to the floor.

"Hey!" she gasped "I've just seen Alphys at the store in Hotland, she says Pap's doing good!"  
"He just messaged me!" Sans fretted as he leapt to his feet "He's falling! He's FALLING!"

"Oh my god!" Undyne gasped "You go straight there! I'll go get Alphys!"

He didn't need telling twice. With tears filling his eye sockets he ran as fast as he could towards Hotland. Then he remembered his shortcuts…

 **When Sans finally reached the lab** he burst through the door.

"PAPYRUS?! PAPYRUS?!" He screamed frantically

His eyes fell upon his brother, laid seemingly lifeless in the corner of the lab next to the computer desk. He rushed to his side and wrapped his arms around him, cradling him as if he was a child.

"Pap?! Papy?!" he cried as he gently shook his brother, desperate to get a response "Don't do this to me, buddy! Please!"

As Sans cradled his little brother, he noticed the crack on his skull. The younger skeleton's face, un-responsive and seemingly empty, was frozen in a pained expression. It killed Sans to see him like this, it made him feel guilty. He must've been so scared, facing all of this practically by himself.

"Come on, buddy!" Sans sobbed as he nestled his head into Papyrus' collarbone, desperately trying to get a response from him "It's me, Sans! It's your big brother! Papyrus, please! Don't you leave me!"

Undyne had found Alphys and they had finally made their way to the lab. They rushed through the door and towards the two skeletons. Seeing the state he was in, Alphys knew she had to act fast.

"Sans, get back!" she ordered as she gently pulled Sans away from his brother.

"No! Papyrus!" Sans attempted to rush back to his brother but Undyne pulled him back into a hug.

"Sans, come here…" she said softly as she hugged him tight, preventing him from seeing Alphys work on his brother "It's okay…"

Alphys could tell that Papyrus collapsing was caused by the virus. He was hot to touch, pasty and pale and had shallow and barely noticeable breathing…but at least he was breathing. Noticing the crack on his skull, she put two and two together and deducted that he had been knocked out from the fall.  
She began chest compressions. Even though he was still breathing, she felt that this might kick-start his normal breathing pattern, it was a long shot, but it might have woken him up.  
As she pumped his chest, she could hear Sans crying uncontrollably. She glanced back and saw him sobbing into Undyne's jacket, begging for her to bring him back.

"Come on Papyrus!" she gasped as she continued the compressions, accidentally breaking one of his ribs in the process.

The pain from this must've shocked the younger skeleton, as he gasped for air as his eyes shot open.  
"B-brother…?!" he cried as he looked over to his brother

Sans pulled away from Undyne and rushed to his little brother's side. Tears filling his eyes, he lunged at him and pulled him into a hug. Despite being extremely weak, Papyrus wrapped his arms around his brother's neck and returned the hug.

"Oh god, Papyrus!" cried Sans "I…I thought you'd left me!"

"I'm…okay, brother" croaked Papyrus

"When you sent me that message…saying you were falling! I…I didn't know what to do!"

"I'm s-sorry…" cried Papyrus as he nuzzled his brother's neck "I didn't mean to worry you…I tried to text that…I'd _fell_ not that I was _falling…_ "

"Oh god…" Alphys sighed as she face-palmed, remembering the annoying feature on her phone "Auto-correct…"

Sans was only half-listening.

"I thought I lost you for a second there, bro!" he sniffed as he wiped the tears from Papyrus' skull

The two brothers sat and hugged for as long as they could, as they knew that if the virus was still strong enough to cause Papyrus to collapse, it was still strong enough to kill Sans.  
Soon enough, they would have to be separated again.


	13. It's Nobody's Fault

_**Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long since my last update. I've started on an early shift at work so it's wiping my out, can't be bothered to even turn my laptop on most days lol**_

 _ **Just writing a quick post before the chapter to see if anyone's heard of article 13? it's a new copyright movement that's gonna be put in place in the European Union (I live in the UK) Research it please. If it's passed, it may prevent me from uploading fanfics anymore. Spread the word. It could destroy the internet as we know it.  
#saveyourinternet **_

**Chapter Thirteen - It's Nobody's Fault.**

Alphys felt awful. Papyrus was sat up in bed as she wrapped a bandage around his skull, all she could think about was how she'd left him alone too soon. Despite the crack in his skull, the broken rib and bruising, he was lucky that his injuries weren't a lot worse.  
He winced in pain as she applied pressure to the crack, causing her to gasp.

"I'm sorry!" she fretted as she recoiled in horror "I'm so sorry, Pap!"

"N-no! It's okay!" he smiled weakly "Thank you for fixing me up."

A few seconds of awkward silence followed.

"Hey…um…Papyrus?" began Alphys as she resumed her bandaging "I'm so, so, so sorry for what happened…"

"Don't be…" scoffed Papyrus "It was my stupid fault for trying to walk down the stairs…"

"Still, I should've taken my phone with me so that you could call me…okay, done." she sighed as she finished bandaging up the crack.  
Once she was satisfied that the bandage wasn't too tight on the skeleton's injury, she helped him lay back into the pillow. Once she'd got him comfortable, she covered him up and tucked the sides of the blanket underneath the mattress, so tight, it was almost as if she was trying to prevent him from getting up again.  
Another short silence followed.

"Is Sans gonna be okay?" Papyrus fretted

"Yeah, he'll be fine, he's just a little shaken…" smiled Alphys as she tucked a hot water bottle under the blanket "He thought he lost you, ya know…"

"No…I mean…he hugged me…he's been near me…is he gonna catch it?"

She didn't know what to say. She wanted to reassure him but she couldn't. There was a really high chance that Sans would catch it, in an ideal world, Sans wouldn't have been anywhere near his brother but it couldn't have been helped. Whatever damage there was had probably been done days ago, but luckily he hadn't been showing any noticeable symptoms.

"I'm sure he's gonna be okay, Pap…" she smiled "Let's just concentrate on getting you comfy, okay?"

 **Meanwhile, downstairs,** Sans and Undyne were sat waiting for Alphys.  
All Sans could picture in his mind was the image of his brother laying in a crumpled mess at the bottom of the stairs, scared, alone and in pain.  
He was still shaking, his nerves were in pieces and he wasn't doing a good job at hiding it as Undyne kept on asking him if he was okay.

"I said I'm fine, Undyne!" he snapped as he cupped his face in his hands, trying to hide the tears that were still building up in his eye sockets.

He didn't mean to snap at her, he knew she was trying to help but he couldn't help it. He actually thought that he'd lost his brother.  
Undyne watched as his legs began to tremble with fear and anticipation. She could tell that he was listening to every sound that came from upstairs, just waiting to hear his brother call to him so that he could rush to his side, but she couldn't let him do that. She knew that there was a high chance that Papyrus was still contagious. Then, Sans said something that caught her off-guard.

"She shouldn't have left him…"

"Y-you can't be serious?!" gasped Undyne "Dude, that's not cool."

"It's true!" Sans snapped coldly "Anything could've happened!"

"That's not fair, Sans…" growled Undyne "She's done EVERYTHING to help your brother!"

"She left him by himself!"

"Because he showed signs of getting better!"

"HE FELL DOWN THE DAMN STAIRS!" Sans roared as he almost leapt to his feet "HE COULD'VE DIED!"

"IT'S NOT HER FAULT!" Undyne yelled back as she rose to Sans' level, looking him dead in the eye.

"THEN WHO'S FAULT IS IT?!"

As he yelled, Undyne could see that Sans was beginning to get more and more upset. As annoyed as she was that he was wrongly blaming Alphys for Papyrus' fall, she just couldn't be mad at him.  
She watched as tears began to spill from Sans' eye sockets, almost staining his cheeks. His shoulders began to tremble as he began to sob.  
She was at a loss for what to do. The only thing she could do, is pull him in to a comforting hug.

"It's nobody's fault…" she shushed as Sans sobbed into her arms "What's important is that he's okay…"

"I'm sorry!" he cried "I'm just so scared!"

Suddenly, their attention was drawn to the sound of Alphys entering the room. She was met with the sight of Sans in emotional pieces which was a bit of a shock as she wasn't used to seeing him like this.

"He's back in bed now." she sighed

"That's good…" smiled Undyne

Alphys glanced at Sans. Seeing him so upset was absolutely killing her, she felt guilty enough already. She made her way towards him and look him straight in the eye, she knew exactly what she wanted to say to him.

"Sans…I'm SO Sorry!" she fretted "I-I-I shouldn't have left him alone so soon! I should've known he'd try to use the stairs! After his seizure I should've know he'd be un-steady on his feet! I-I-I-I…" she dropped to her knees "I'm sorry, Sans!"

"No…don't be…" sighed Sans as he pulled his friend into a comforting hug "Thank you…for everything you're doing for him…"

As they hugged, Alphys' face brushed against his and she could swear she almost felt…fever.

"Sans, are you okay?" she asked him as she pulled away from the hug "You feel…warm…"

"Yeah, I feel fine…" he said solemnly "I've just worked myself up that's all…"

Alphys accepted this response as she knew he'd been crying.

"You should go home, get some rest…" she smiled , placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Could I…see him before I go?" Sans asked meekly "Please? I wont stay long…"

She knew it was a bad idea but looking at Sans' face…she didn't have the heart to say no…

 **Back in the bedroom,** Papyrus was laid in bed, his eyes becoming heavy with tiredness. It hurt to breathe but at least the headache had stopped. He was just about to close his eyes to attempt sleep when he heard a familiar voice from the doorway.

"Pap?"

There was Sans, slowly making his way towards the bed.  
Papyrus was at war within himself. He wanted his brother to be with him. He wanted to give him a huge hug but he was reluctant. He was terrified of Sans getting sick.

"Sans!" he beamed as he covered his mouth and nose, in an attempt not to breathe on his brother "You shouldn't be in here!"

"What? Aren't you glad to see me?" smiled Sans as he sat on the side of the bed.

"Of course I am, but you've been near me enough!" the younger skeleton fretted "You're gonna get sick too!"

"Relax bro" Sans smiled as he adjusted Papyrus' pillow to make him more comfortable "I'm just checking on you then I'm gonna go home, okay?"

"Okay…" replied Papyrus, his face still half hidden under the blanket "I'm sorry if I made you worry…"

"Hey, don't worry about it, I'm just glad you're okay!" said Sans, his smile slowly turning into a frown "…I was scared though…I really thought I'd lost you, Pap…"

Seeing his brother so upset made Papyrus feel incredibly guilty. He felt awful for putting him through all this worry, it was obviously affecting him emotionally and physically. He looked tired and run-down, he obviously hadn't been sleeping and rushing to the lab in the freezing cold clearly didn't help. Wanting to comfort him, he decided he was going to stop feeling sorry for himself. His brother always put on a brave face for him, but now it was time the roles were reversed. Sliding one of his arms from underneath the blanket, he placed his hand on his brother's shoulder and smiled at him.

"You didn't though, did you?" he smiled "I'm okay and I'm going to get better!"

Sans smiled back at his brother, he was really proud of how strong he seemed. Part of him still wanted to see Papyrus as the skinny little kid he used to be but he knew that he'd become so much more. He was strong now, stronger than Sans could ever hope to be and he knew that he was strong enough to beat the virus. That knowledge alone comforted him.

"Yeah, I know you will, buddy…" Sans smiled as he placed his hand on his brother's "You can do anything…and I'll still just be a phone call away if you need me, okay?"

"Yeah…now, go home and sleep!" Papyrus ordered "You look awful!"


	14. Just Breathe

**Chapter Fourteen - Just Breathe.**

" _Sans!"  
It was dark. Sans couldn't see anything that was in front of him, all he could do is listen to the most haunting sound he'd ever heard, his brother's screaming.  
"Papyrus!" Sans yelled into the darkness "Where are you?! I can't see you!"  
"Help me!"  
Sans began to run, despite not being able to see where he was going he ran and ran, desperately calling to his brother.  
"Talk to me, Pap! Tell me where you are!"  
No reply. Everything had fell silent and all Sans could hear was his own panicked breathing. His heart began to beat against his ribcage, so fast he could almost feel it in his skull. Where was he? Where was his brother?  
"Sans…"  
Sans turned around to find his brother stood there, shaking so much he could hear his bones rattling.  
"Oh god…Papy?"  
Sans could see that his brother was beginning to faint. He rushed towards him and caught him before he could hit the floor. Cradling his brother in his arms, he tried to reassure him that he was okay.  
"Sans…I'm…so cold…" Papyrus shivered  
Without even thinking, Sans removed his own jacket, and just as he was about to cover his brother with it, he was suddenly taken back at what he saw. Papyrus was still in his arms, whimpering and shaking, but he'd become a child once again. Sans was shocked to see his brother like this once again, he was small, and skinny, with arms and legs that almost seemed too long for his body. Just as Sans remembered him.  
"Sans…" the little skeleton whimpered as tears filled his little eye sockets "It…hurts…it hurts!"  
"I know, I know, kiddo!" fretted Sans as he hugged him tighter "It's okay Papy, don't cry!"  
"Make…it stop…please, big brother make it stop!" at this point, little Papyrus had worked himself up into hysterics. Crying and clawing at Sans' shirt.  
"Paps, calm down-"  
"Why, Sans?!" wailed the little skeleton "Why won't you help me?! Why?! WHY?!"  
Sans' heart dropped as he watched his brother cry, but what was worse, was that he noticed dust forming on the floor which could only mean one thing…  
"Pap…" he whimpered as he watched his brother's bony little legs slowly turning to dust "No, Papyrus! Stay with me, please!"  
"Sans, make it stop!" screamed Papyrus "Please, I'm scared!"  
Sans watched in horror as his little brother slowly turned to dust.  
"Why aren't you helping me, Sans?! I'm falling! Please don't let me die!"  
"No…NO PAPYRUS!"  
"Sans!"  
Just like that…he was gone. Dissolved into dust which now covered Sans' legs.  
"No…no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO!" PAPYRUS! PAPYRUS!"_

Sans shot up in bed, wide awake and breathing very heavily.

That night, he had opted to sleep in Papyrus' room again, tucked up in his brother's bed, he had intended to have a decent night's sleep for the first time in days but unfortunately, that didn't seem like an option anymore.  
He knew it was only a dream but he just couldn't calm himself down. He wanted to scream, he could feel the pressure filling his chest but he just couldn't make a sound. All he could do was gasp for breath.  
He often had nightmares, but not like this. He hadn't worked himself up this badly for a while.  
Usually, the only one who could calm him down was Papyrus but he knew he couldn't call him, he'd only make him worry. He tried to calm himself down but to no avail, he didn't know how to do this by himself. Desperately, he grabbed his phone which was resting under the pillow and began to dial the only other number he could think of.

" _Hello?"_

"Undyne?!" he gasped

" _Sans, are you okay?!"_

"H-he-lp" he couldn't speak. "-elp m-e"  
 _"Say that again?"_

"C-c-ca-n't b-rea-the…" he cried "C-an't st-st-st-op it…."

" _Okay, okay, just stay where you are!"_ she ordered _"I'll be there as soon as I can!"_

With that, she hung up.  
Sans pulled himself into a foetal position and began rocking back and forth, breathing heavily. He felt his ribcage tightening, almost as if someone was sitting on his chest. He kept telling himself over and over that he was okay but it was no use, he just couldn't stop crying. This was definitely a full-blown panic attack. As he cried, he could still hear Papyrus' voice ringing through his skull. Begging and pleading for his big brother to come to his rescue.

"It's not real…it's not real…it's not real…" sobbed Sans "He's okay, he's okay, he's okay, he's okay….he's okay!"

Still the voices kept screaming and the sight of Papyrus' terrified face flashed through Sans' mind. He began pounding his fists against his skull, bruising the bones on his hands as he did so.

"Stop it!" he cried "It's not real!"

He rocked back and forth more frantically until he finally couldn't take it anymore. Hugging his knees to his chest, he screamed and that's how he stayed until Undyne finally got there.

It only took her half an hour to get from her house in Waterfall.  
"Sans?!" she called as she burst through the skeletons' front door.  
Hearing the screams erupting from Papyrus' room, she dashed up the stairs and ran into the room, only to discover Sans who by now was a hysterical mess. He wasn't just crying, he was wailing. Obviously trying to cry out for help but he just couldn't form the words.  
Undyne ran to his side.

"Sans?!" she gasped as she placed both of her hands on his shoulders "Hey, hey, hey, calm down!"

"Pa-Pa-Pap-yrus!" he spluttered. He was obviously struggling to breathe

"Calm down…" she said, rubbing his back and trying to be as comforting as she could

"He's d-d-d-d-dead!" Sans wailed as he began to pound his skull with his hands once more "It's my f-f-fault! I let…him…die!"

"He isn't dead!" smiled Undyne as she gently gripped his hands, holding them down so that he wouldn't hit himself anymore "He's with Alphys, remember?"

"No!" he sobbed, sharp breaths decorating his hysterical tone "He's dead! I saw him! He turned to dust!"

"Hey, hey…"

"He turned to dust! He's gone!" without warning, he threw himself into Undyne's arms, gripping onto the leather jacket she was wearing and burying himself into her shoulder "oh, god! My little brother!"

There was only one thing Undyne could think of. Despite it being late, she reached into her pocket and called Alphys' number. Thankfully, she picked up.

" _H-hello?"_

"Hey, Alphys." sighed Undyne, still hugging Sans as she held the phone in her other hand "Really sorry for waking you but would it be okay if you put Pap on the phone?"

" _What's going on over there?!"_ Alphys fretted, obviously hearing Sans in hysterics over the phone

"Sans is freaking out, I think he had some sort of nightmare. Look, just put Papyrus on the phone, please!"

" _I don't know, Undyne…Papyrus has been through a lot today, he really needs to rest…"_

"Please!" she begged, Sans' crying had gotten louder so she raised her voice slightly so that Alphys could hear her. "I've no idea how to get him to stop!"

" _Okay."_ sighed Alphys, hearing how worked up Sans was getting _"I'll go wake him. Get ready to put Sans on the phone!"_

Undyne held the phone up to Sans' skull. The next voice he heard broke him out of his hysterical trance.

" _Brother?!"_

"Pap?!" Sans spluttered as he almost instinctively snatched the phone from Undyne's hand

" _It's okay Sans, I'm right here!"_

"You were d-d-ead!" Sans sobbed, still clearly struggling to breathe "You t-turned to dust!"

Hearing his brother working himself up into a hysterical state, Papyrus knew exactly what to do. The only way to get Sans to stop, was to talk him through it, but he knew that just talking wasn't usually enough, he was gong to need Undyne's help.

" _Sans, listen closely."_ he said, his voice filled with a kind of gentle authority _"I need you to pass the phone to Undyne really quickly-"_

"No!" Sans fretted, obviously not wanting to stop hearing his brother's voice

" _-no listen to me. I need to talk to her for 2 seconds, then you can talk to me again, okay?"_

Reluctantly, Sans did as his brother said and passed the phone to Undyne.

" _Okay Undyne listen, I need you to do something for me"_ he began _"go and grab one of my hoodies from my closet and wrap it around him, make sure that it's tight! Then, I need you to lay him down on his side with his head on a pillow. Give him the phone and as I talk to him, you need to rub his back."_

Undyne did as she was told. She ran to Papyrus' closet, grabbed a bright orange hoodie and draped it over Sans. She then gently laid him down against Papyrus' pillow and gave him back the cell phone.

" _Sans, can you hear me?"_ Papyrus' voice filled his head once more but this time, instead of filling him with fear, comforted him.

"Y-yeah" he gasped, his breath still short

" _Okay, let's just breathe, okay? In and out. In and out"_

Sans did as his brother said, his head becoming really fuzzy as he did so. Undyne had began to rub his back, though she felt awkward as this was really outside of her comfort zone. Sans continued forcing himself to breathe in and out as he clung to his brother's every word.

" _Well done, brother! You're doing great! Now, tell me what you saw in your dream…"_

"Y-you d-d-died!" Sans cried into the phone "You d-died in my arms and I couldn't stop it!"

" _Okay, but that wasn't real was it?"_

"N-no…"

" _What is real?"_

"R-right now is -r-r-eal…" Sans spluttered, rubbing the tears from his eyes with the arm of Papyrus' hoodie

" _That's right. Now, look around the room and tell me 5 things you can see that are real."_

"Um…uh…" Sans glanced around the room "Y-your computer, b-b-b-books, a w-window, a-a-a-act-ion f-figures and the d-d-door."

As he spoke, Sans could physically feel himself calming down. His heart began to slow to a steady beat and he had stopped trembling. He took a deep long breath, still clutching Undyne's cell phone in his hand.  
Undyne took this as a sign that he was feeling a little better so she stopped rubbing his back.

"You okay now, Sans?" she asked him

Sans nodded as he sat up on Papyrus' bed.

" _Sans, are you okay?"_ Papyrus called through the phone

"Y-yeah. Yeah…" Sans sighed "Thanks bro, I think it's passed…"

" _Okay…are you sure, because…my head is still really sore and-"_

"Yeah! Yeah…of course!" Sans smiled "you get to bed, I'll be fine…"

" _But, if you need me to stay on the phone, I will!"_

"No Pap…" Said Sans as he wiped the tears from his face "You sleep, I'll call you in the morning…"

" _Are you sure?"_

"Yeah, I'm sure." smiled Sans "goodnight Pap, love you, bro."  
 _"Goodnight, Sans."_

With that, Papyrus hung up.

"Here…thanks…" sighed Sans as he handed the phone back to Undyne, then resting his head against his knees.

 **Meanwhile, over at Alphys' lab,** Papyrus had just finished his phone call with Sans.  
Worried didn't even come close to how he was feeling, he hated not being able to be there to calm his brother down as he had done so many times before. Noticing how much the call had upset him, Alphys sat next to him on the bed and hooked her arm around him in an attempt to comfort him.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, concerned "Sans sounded upset…"

Feeling like he wanted to cry, Papyrus wiped away the tears which were beginning to form in the corner of his eye sockets.

"Yeah, he…had a nightmare that's all…" he sniffed "he's okay, don't worry…"

"If…you don't mind me saying so…" began Alphys, "You seemed like you knew exactly how to handle that situation…this sort of thing happen often?"

Papyrus paused for a second. He thought of all of the times he'd been woken up in the night by his brothers screams, all of the times he'd have to bring him down from a panic attack and all of the times Sans would fall back to sleep, sobbing quietly to himself.

"Yeah…um…he does this a lot…" he sighed sadly as he laid back against the pillow "Hasn't happened for a while though…"

Alphys smiled at him sadly as she helped him settle into bed.

"This…is the first time I've not actually been there with him when…its happened…" sighed the skeleton, an emotional shiver in his voice. "I feel so guilty…"

"Hey, you don't have to feel guilty!" gasped Alphys "If you really think about it, in a way…you _were_ with him! You talked him through whatever it was he was going through, right?"

"Y-yeah…" sniffed Papyrus "Still wish I was there with him though…"

With that thought weighing on his mind, Papyrus proceeded to try to fall back to sleep.

 **Back at the skeleton's house,** Undyne was still with Sans. She didn't feel comfortable leaving him alone tonight so, to Sans' dismay, she declared that she would sleep on his couch tonight.

"You know…you don't _have_ to sleep here tonight…" sighed Sans as he watched her raid Papyrus' closet for spare pillows and blankets

"I know I don't" she replied as she threw the piles of pillows outside of Papyrus' bedroom door "But I'm gonna! If you wake up screaming again, I can help now I've seen how Pap does it!"

"It won't happen again tonight!" Sans declared, his cheek slightly blushed with embarrassment "It…never happens twice in one night…"

"Well, if it does, I just have to ask you a bunch of questions, right?" she smiled as she placed her hand on his shoulder "What's all that about, anyways?"

"Ugh, I dunno…" sighed Sans "Pap calls it 'grounding' or something like that…"

"Grounding?"

"Yeah…" Sans sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck, awkwardly "When I get bad, he'll ask me to list things like, stuff I can hear, stuff I can smell…I dunno why it works, it just does…"

All of a sudden, Sans stumbled backwards but luckily, he stopped himself from falling. His head felt strange, like he'd been awake for days and he couldn't hide how breathless it made him feel.

"Hey, hey, hey, you okay?" Undyne fretted as she rushed back to his side.

"Yeah…must've been a bad one…" he replied, obviously referring to the nightmare "I just need some sleep…"

Accepting his answer, Undyne saw him to bed and settled down for the night, herself, on the skeletons' couch.  
Thankfully, Sans didn't wake up for the rest of the night.


	15. Worst Case Scenario

**Chapter Fifteen - Worst Case Scenario**

A few more days had passed and it was safe to say that Papyrus was on the mend.  
His fever had gone down, he hadn't thrown up for days and he was up and moving about. In fact, he was doing so well, that Alphys had given him the good news that she thought he could go back home to his brother that very same day.  
"I can't wait to tell Sans!" she smiled gleefully "He's gonna be so excited!"

"I know!" Papyrus beamed as he dialled Sans' number.

A few seconds passed and no answer.  
This began to worry Papyrus. He dialled again, eagerly awaiting his brother to answer but again, no reply.

"That's strange…" he grumbled

"Maybe he's at work?" asked Alphys

"But…he always answers…" he fretted, remembering his brother's promise to answer his calls no matter where he was.

"Don't panic!" smiled Alphys as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone "He's probably forgot his cell phone! I'll call Undyne to see if he's there"

As Alphys stood aside and began to call Undyne, Papyrus couldn't help but to feel a little bit uneasy. Why wasn't his brother answering? Something had to be wrong…

"Hey, Undyne!" smiled Alphys once Undyne had answered the phone "Is Sans there?"

" _Nah, he seemed really wiped out yesterday so I made him take the day off to get some rest!"_

This made Alphys pause for a second.

"Oh, okay then." she bluffed, shooting Papyrus a reassuring but forced smile "See you later then!"

With that, she hung up. Papyrus looked at her, puzzled.

"He isn't at work?" he asked

"H-he is!" Alphys smiled "He's in the bathroom, he's gonna call us back!"

She felt bad for lying to him but she knew he'd worry. Something about this whole thing was worrying her.

"Speaking of bathroom, I'll be right back!" she smiled as she rushed to the lab's restroom, taking her phone with her. Quickly, she dialled Undyne's number once again.

" _Hello?"_

"Hey, it's me again!" fretted Alphys "Have you seen Sans at all today?!"

" _I told you, I made him take the day off"_ Undyne replied, sounding slightly annoyed at having to repeat herself again _"I think worrying about Pap is making him lose sleep"_

"But, have you checked in on him at all today?!" asked Alphys, even more desperately

" _No, I was gonna check on him after work…why, what's wrong?"_

"I just have a bad feeling…" Alphys said, quietly, taking extra care to make sure Papyrus couldn't hear her. "Could you go to his place now and see if he's okay? Just to put my mind at ease…"

" _Okay, sure…I'll call you when I get there. Bye."_

With that, Undyne hung up.  
In order to not make Papyrus suspicious, she flushed the toilet, left the bathroom and made her way back to him. She could tell that he was beginning to catch on to the fact that something wasn't right so she brushed it off once again, saying that Sans was definitely going to call. She only hoped she was right.

 **Undyne had made her way to Snowdin Town** and had arrived at the Skeletons' house. Knocking on the door, she waited for a reply.  
Nothing.  
She knocked again and listened for any movement.  
Again, nothing.

"Sans?" she called through the door "You there?"

There was no reply. She was starting to worry.

"Sans?!" she called again "I'm coming in!"

Luckily, the door was unlocked so she made her way inside.  
She deducted that he was upstairs asleep in Papyrus' room so she made her way up there, only to find that the room was empty. She then checked Sans' bedroom, then the bathroom…but Sans wasn't in any of them.

"Weird…" she grumbled under her breath.

She decided to check downstairs. He wasn't in the living room, the only room left was the kitchen. Making her way towards the door, she noticed something that made her blood run cold. There, through the crack in the door, she could see Sans, collapsed face down on the cold, tiled kitchen floor.

"Oh, no!" she gasped as she rushed to his side and tried desperately to shake him awake "Sans?! Sans, wake up!"

The skeleton didn't stir. She placed her ear against his chest only to find that his breathing was slow and very shallow. She placed her hand on his cheekbone and was shocked at how cold and clammy it felt. Again, she tried to wake him by calling his name, this time getting a small, weakened response.

"Pa…pyrus…" he whimpered weakly

"Oh God, Sans…" Undyne gasped sadly as she sat him up, leaning him against her chest to support him.

Suddenly Sans went stiff in her arms and began to seize violently. As his entire body shook furiously, Undyne began to panic. She laid the convulsing skeleton on the ground as gently as she could and dialled Alphys as fast as she could. Thankfully, she answered straight away.

"Alphys, Sans is sick!" she cried down the phone "Really, REALLY sick!"

She glanced down at Sans, who's eye sockets had turned completely black and almost empty. His entire body had stiffened like a board and the only sounds he was emitting were terrified cries.

"He's having a seizure!" she screamed "What the hell do I do?!"

" _Don't move him!"_ Alphys replied, urgently _"When he stops, get him here as soon as possible!"_

Thankfully, the fit didn't last long. He'd stopped after about a minute and glanced up at Undyne with a terrified look.

"Oh God…" he whimpered, weakly "I'm dying."

"Not today, you're not!" declared Undyne as she scooped the skeleton into her arms and bolted out of the door.  
It wasn't too far to Alphys' lab in Hotland, she knew she'd make it in plenty of time if she ran. Clutching Sans protectively in her arms she'd made it half way there when the skeleton began screaming uncontrollably.  
"AHH! OH GOD!" he wailed as he clawed at his ribs "WHAT THE HELL?!"

"Hang on Sans!" she yelled "Almost there!"

"Nngh! Man, this hurts!" he sobbed as empathetic fear flooded through him.

Is this what his brother had felt? No wonder he was so terrified, it was the most excruciating pain he had ever felt in his life. Now, all he could think of was Papyrus and the suffering he went through.  
They made it to The Lab and Sans was totally emotionally exhausted.  
Undyne didn't even bother knocking, she just burst through the door with Sans still cradled in her arms. A few minutes back he had begun to shiver as cold flashes plagued his entire body, and that's how he'd stayed; shivering but feverish.

"ALPHYS!" cried Undyne

The pitter-patter of Alphys' feet could be heard frantically running down the stairs and what she saw, made her gasp in horror. Sans looked horrendous. Huge black circles shadowed his eye sockets which were almost pale and lifeless. Rushing to his side, she placed her hand on his forehead and was shocked at how hot he actually was.

"Oh dear…here, lay him down in here!" she fretted as she led Undyne into an examination room, as it was the only one with a spare bed. Doing as she was told, Undyne laid him down on the bed and tried to make him as comfortable as she could.

"Take this off!" ordered Alphys as she gently removed the skeleton's blue hooded jacket "We have to cool him down, his high temperature could increase the chance of another seizure!"

Sans whimpered in pain as they did this, his bones feeling almost prickly to the touch. He didn't want to be cool. Inside his body, he felt freezing. Suddenly, the pain in his chest returned. Gasping for breath, he began screaming in agony and just as quick as the pain started it ended when he finally threw up. This exhausted him so much, he felt like he was going to pass out, that's when he noticed a familiar face peering through the door.  
Papyrus had heard all of the commotion and had come downstairs as soon as he heard his brother's scream.

"Sans?!" he cried as he ran to his brother's side "Sans?! Are you alright?!"

"No! Keep away!" Sans spluttered as he gripped his stomach in pain

Ignoring his brother, he gripped his hand tightly and placed his other hand on his forehead. At this point, Sans was so terrified he wasn't worried about how contagious the virus was. He began hyperventilating in a blind panic as the pain came back, worse than before. Papyrus' stomach churned as he watched his older brother wailing in pain.

"AHH! Pap, get back!" he cried "I'm gonna-"

He vomited.

At this point, Alphys had gone to retrieve a medical kit, complete with the same needles she had used on Papyrus weeks earlier.

"We have to test him, quickly!" she barked

Seeing those needles again made Papyrus feel cold. He remembered the excruciating pain they caused and the fact that his brother was going to have to endure the same thing made him feel sick.

"Pap, do you feel strong enough to hold him?" Alphys asked seriously as she looked him dead in the eye

Papyrus nodded. He pulled his brother into a comforting hug and held him as tight as he could. Sans knew what was coming, he remembered how painful it was for Papyrus so he braced himself for the needle's impact. He tried to keep calm, even as the needle was applied and the burning pain shot through his spine he didn't scream, no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't let Papyrus see him break down. He simply sobbed into his brother's shoulder. Once Alphys was finished, Sans still kept a tight hold on his brother, trembling. After weeks of being apart, and the fact that he was feeling so vulnerable, a hug from his brother made him feel so safe. As he rocked his sobbing brother back and forth, Papyrus looked up at Alphys with tears welling up in his eye sockets.

"He's got it, hasn't he?" he whimpered

"We won't know for sure…until I test this sample…" she replied sadly "just…stay with him for now okay? I'll…be as quick as I can…"

On that note, she left the room.


	16. If I Die

**Chapter Sixteen - If I Die**

A few hours had passed and Papyrus hadn't left his brother's side.  
Worry was consuming him as Sans' symptoms appeared to be more severe than his were. He was boiling hot to touch, yet he complained of being so cold that his bones ached and whereas the pain for Papyrus often came and went in waves, Sans' pain seemed to be constant as he was constantly writhing and couldn't get comfortable. He'd also seized quite a few times since Alphys took the bone marrow sample and as horrifying as it was to witness, he helped him through it each time.  
Feeling like his entire body was attacking him, Sans struggled to settle but he didn't want Papyrus to know how afraid he actually was, though he was terrible at hiding it. He lay there on the bed, sobbing.

"Brother…" shushed Papyrus as he gently placed his hand on Sans' forehead "I know it's hard but try to sleep…"

"I'm f-f-f-f-freezing…" groaned Sans

Papyrus looked over to the other side of the room. There, neatly folded on a chair opposite the bed, were Sans' hoodie and white shirt. Alphys had suggested that they try to keep him cool no matter how cold he said he was as to try to prevent the seizures. He felt awful making him lay on the bed, wearing nothing but his shorts but it had to be done.

"I know…it's awful…" sighed Papyrus, gripping his brother's hand

Sans gripped Papyrus' hand tighter as he felt the burning pain shoot through his ribs and once again he started to heave heavily. Instinctively, Papyrus reached for the nearest thing, a litter bin, and placed it in his brother's lap once he'd helped him sit up. Papyrus had to physically hold his brother in a sitting position, as he was so weak he hadn't been able to keep himself upright. Once he was finished, Papyrus cradled him in his arms as he began to cry once again.

"There, there Sans…" he shushed as he gently rocked him "It's okay…"

"I'm sorry, Papyrus!" sobbed Sans as he buried himself in his brother's arms "I don't think I'm gonna make it!"

"Stop it." Papyrus growled bluntly

At this point, Sans had worked himself up into hysterics.

"I'm gonna d-die! I'm so damn weak I can't fight it!" he cried, finally showing how afraid he actually was.

"You stop it!" Papyrus said sternly "You're not going ANYWHERE, you understand?!"

His brother's words were of little comfort. He knew the truth. If this was _that_ virus, he knew there was little chance of him beating it.  
He rested his head on Papyrus' chest and began to sob again.

"If…if I do…die, bro…" he sobbed, weakly "Just know that I-it isn't your fault, okay?"

Hearing those words cut through Papyrus like a knife. Of course, that thought had crossed his mind a few times during this whole ordeal. He felt that it was _his_ fault that his brother had caught this awful disease and that guilt was absolutely destroying him.  
Feeling useless, he knew words wouldn't comfort him so he simply laid him back on the bed against the pillow and held his hand. He tried to hold it back but it was no use, tears began spilling from his eye sockets as he felt Sans grip his hand tighter, obviously trying to ride through the pain.

"Sans…you're NOT going to die!" whimpered Papyrus "You're stronger than you think…"

As he spoke, Papyrus watched helplessly as Sans began to writhe in pain, gripping his chest once again.

"Ngh! Oh god!" wailed Sans "It hurts so bad!"

"Ssh, ssh…it's okay…" Papyrus shushed, placing his other hand on Sans' forehead "I'm right here with you, you can do this…I believe in you…"

"AAH-AH! PLEASE, STOP!"

All of a sudden, a pain ten times worse than the ones that came before, ripped through Sans' skull. It was that immense, his vision became extremely blurred, barely being able to focus on his brother's face .

"Papyrus…!" he whimpered as he began to fade out into another seizure.

Papyrus began to panic. This seizure seemed…different than the other ones. It was a lot more violent, Sans' entire body convulsed so hard he appeared to be flying off of the bed and instead of hearing him make terrified whimpers, Sans was…completely silent.

"No…no, no, no, no, no…SANS!" fretted Papyrus "Alphys! ALPHYS!"

Hearing all the commotion, Alphys burst through the door, quickly followed by Undyne. The sight they were greeted with was horrifying. Sans was seizing violently but silently, still tightly gripping Papyrus' hand.

"Please help him!" Papyrus screamed

"No one touch him!" ordered Alphys, as she knew restraining him would hurt him more than help him "Pap, you need to let go of his hand!"

"I can't!" Papyrus cried as he desperately tried to release himself from his brother's grip "I can't get him to let go!"

Thinking quickly, Undyne rushed to the skeleton's side and managed to grip onto Sans' three middle fingers. It was going to be horrible, but she knew what she had to do.

"Pap, close your eyes!" she ordered "I'm sorry, Sans…"

Without warning, she bent his fingers backwards, causing them to break.  
Though he was now released, the sound of his brother's finger bones cracking made Papyrus feel sick. Still…despite what should have been horrifically painful for the older skeleton, Sans made no sound whatsoever, he simply continued to seize.

"What's happening to him!" Papyrus cried "Sans, can you hear me?! Sans?!"

"Undyne, take Pap outside!" fretted Alphys, not wanting to cause him any more stress

Undyne did as she was ordered and tried to gently pull Papyrus towards the door but of course, he resisted.

"No! He needs me, I can't leave him!" he cried trying frantically to return to his brother's side.

Eventually, Undyne managed to get him out of the room, screaming his brother's name all the way.


	17. He Has to Get Better!

**Chapter Seventeen - He Has to Get Better!**

 **Papyrus and Undyne waited outside to door for what seemed like forever** even though it was only around half an hour.  
Emotionally drained, Papyrus was sat on the floor beside the door, hugging his knees to his chest. He had cried so much he felt like he was completely out of tears.  
Unsure of how to comfort him, Undyne sat beside him and hooked her arm around his shoulder.

"Stupid question…" she sighed "but…are you okay?"

"It's all my fault!" he cried "He caught it off of me! Now he's going to die and it's all my fault!"

"Don't talk like that…" she sighed in response "Its just a freak thing of nature…"

"I can't lose him, Undyne!" he fretted as he leapt to his feet, pacing up and down "He's always been there! For as long as I can remember, he's been there for me!"

"Pap, calm down…he's probably gonna be fine…" sighed Undyne, trying her best to comfort him. "I'm sure Alphys has everything under control…"

As she said that, someone new entered the lab.  
A monster (resembling a cat) burst into the room, carrying a medical bag.

"I'm here about the skeleton." He said bluntly

"He's in here!" piped a voice from the doorway.

Alphys, hearing the monster's voice had popped her head through the partially opened doorway.

"This one hasn't been near him, has he?" the monster asked, almost coldly, as he pointed at Papyrus

"This one?!" scoffed Undyne, slightly annoyed at the way he addressed Papyrus "He's his brother! Who the hell are you, barging in here all high-and-mighty?!"

"Undyne, please!" gasped Alphys "This is Dr. Nekomi. I called him here for a second opinion."

Saying nothing, Nekomi followed Alphys into the room, closing the door behind them.

Papyrus was really starting to worry now…it must have been a lot worse than they thought if they had to bring in a second doctor.

 **Another hour and a half** of agonising waiting had passed before the doors opened again.  
Pap had leapt to his feet, anxious to hear what they had to say. He looked at Alphys first, who looked almost defeated and what's worse, she looked as though she had been crying.

"H-how is he?!" fretted Papyrus, almost not wanting to know the answer…

Noticing Alphys' hesitation to answer him, Dr. Nekomi decided to step in.

"We've had to place your brother into a medically-induced coma." he said

Just like that, Papyrus felt as if all of the air in his body was knocked out of him. He went completely cold as the doctor explained the situation.

"I'm afraid that the disease has spread rather rapidly. Half the cells in his bones have died, meaning that his body is too weak to support itself. The seizures though…they're quite unusual for this illness…"

"Oh, no…I've just recovered from the same thing!" Papyrus piped up "I had seizures too!"

The doctor glared at Papyrus with an almost judgemental look then he looked back at Alphys.

"You didn't tell me the other one had it too…" he sighed "Please tell me you kept them apart…"

"We tried!" fretted Alphys "B-b-but due to certain circumstances-"

"That isn't an excuse, doctor!" Dr. Nekomi barked "Rather irresponsible, I must say…"

Undyne was getting seriously annoyed by the doctor. Talking about Papyrus as if he wasn't even there and seemingly blaming Alphys for Sans catching the sickness, it made her want to punch his lights out.

"So…" she growled "What's putting him into a coma gonna do?"

"It'll allow him to rest…" Alphys smiled sadly as she glanced over at Papyrus, who at this point had almost gone into auto-pilot "The seizures won't be nearly as violent and it reduces the chance of things like vomiting which would cause him to dehydrate quicker…"

That was all well and good but there was only one thing on Papyrus' mind.

"Is…there any cure? I mean…besides rest?" he asked

"That's the problem" coughed Dr. Nekomi "His cells are dying rapidly and, I'm not going to sugar-coat this for you, eventually he _will_ die."

Papyrus couldn't hold it in any longer, tears began to stream down his face and he began to panic.

"No, please! There has to be something you can do!" he pleaded "He HAS to get better!"

"I'm afraid that, at the moment, there isn't anything we can do except keep him under strict observation." sighed Nekomi, glaring at Alphys "Can I at least trust you to do that, Dr. Alphys?"

"Y-yes…"

A few seconds of silence followed.

"Can…can I go in and see him?" asked Papyrus, his voice breaking with emotion.

"I dunno Pap…" sighed Alphys, sadly "You're still really weak, yourself…Dr. Nekomi, would he be in any danger if he went to sit with his brother?"

"If he's showing significant signs of getting better, he should be fine." replied Nekomi "This disease typically only strikes an individual once so once recovered, the immune system can completely fight it off."

Nekomi then looked directly into Papyrus' eyes.

"And for your brother's sake…" he said "I hope he's strong enough to fight it."


	18. I Wish It Was Me!

**Chapter Eighteen - I Wish It Was Me!**

The sight that greeted Papyrus when he walked into the room was so upsetting he almost collapsed where he stood.  
There, laying on the bed as still as a statue was his big brother, covered in wires stuck to his bones and one connected directly to his soul monitoring his condition.  
He was speechless as he tearfully made his way to Sans' side. The only movement coming from his brother was his ribcage slightly rising and falling, thankfully, showing that he was at least still alive.  
"Sans?" he whimpered as he sat on the edge of the bed "It…it's me…"

No response.

"Can you hear me?" he asked desperately, hoping for any type of response but still nothing.

Papyrus looked down at Sans' hand, the one he'd gripped on to when he had the seizure and gasped at the sight of his recently broken fingers wrapped in bandages.  
It made him feel so guilty…it was his fault, it HAD to be his fault.  
He gently placed Sans' bandaged hand in his own and brought it up to his cheekbone.

"I'm sorry, brother…" he sighed as tears began to fall down his face "I'm so, so sorry!"

As Papyrus began to cry, Undyne entered the room.  
She was taken aback at how dead silent the room was, the only sounds that could be heard were the machines monitoring Sans and the small, almost pitiful sobs emanating from Papyrus, who at this point was at the point of being inconsolable.  
As she made her way towards him, she gasped as she saw Sans lying motionless on the bed. In a way, she felt almost guilty. For as long as she had known Sans she'd always tell him to stop with his stupid puns and almost smart-guy attitude towards almost everything. All those time she'd told him to "be quiet" or called him a smart-ass after telling him to shut up and now…he _couldn't_ speak. No puns, no smart remarks, no cheesy grin…it was like he wasn't even Sans anymore…

"Oh my God…" she whimpered.

"He…he's so quiet…" Papyrus sobbed as he continued to caress his cheek with his brother's broken hand "it's like…he's empty…like he's not even there anymore…"

"I know what you mean…" Undyne sighed sadly "I'm not used to seeing him like this…it must be awful for _you_ to see him like this…"

"I don't care what I feel!" Papyrus cried "He's the only thing I care about right now! I-I-I…I wish it was me who was dying!"

"Pap…" gasped Undyne "Don't say that…"

"Why, Undyne?!" Papyrus cried as he turned to face her "Why did I get better?! Why does _HE_ have to suffer?! Why…why am I stronger than him…?"

An awkward few seconds of silence followed.

"He's my big brother…he's supposed to be the strongest one…he's supposed to be here to make _ME_ feel better!"

Papyrus felt awful after saying that, almost selfish. His brother was fighting for his life and all he could think about was how upset _he_ felt.  
He turned back to his brother and gently placed his hand on his cheekbone, almost hoping to get some kind of response.

"It just isn't fair…" he sobbed "I wish it was me…"

"Hey…" Undyne smiled as she supportively placed her hand on Papyrus' shoulder "Don't let him hear you say stuff like that…"

She placed her other hand on top of Sans'.

"You know…while you were sick, all he thought about was you. No matter where he was or what he was doing, you were the only thing he cared about…"

Papyrus said nothing as Undyne continued.

"He loves you so much, Papyrus…he doesn't want you to be beating yourself up over something you have no control over…"

"The last thing he said to me…was that if he died it wouldn't be my fault…" he sobbed "So why do I feel like it is?!"

Undyne, though she wanted to try and keep calm for him, couldn't help but feel her heart break for her friend. Throwing her tough-girl persona aside and looking at him with the eyes of a protective older sister, she felt tears building up in her eyes as she pulled her friend in for a comforting hug.  
Feeling distraught, Papyrus buried himself into her arms and began to wail.

"Hey, hey… calm down…" she shushed as she rubbed his back, fighting back tears of her own "Come on dude, let's be strong for him okay?"

"I just want my brother back!" Papyrus cried.


	19. I'm Right Here With You

**Chapter Nineteen - I'm Right Here With You…**

A few hours had passed and Papyrus hadn't left his brother's side.  
It was now very late and Undyne had taken herself home after sitting with the skeleton brothers all day, leaving Papyrus with Sans and Alphys.  
Alphys herself kept checking in on him as she was still worried that he wasn't a hundred percent better yet, not that he cared.  
All he cared about was his brother.

"Papyrus…you need to rest…" she sighed as she walked in on him falling to sleep leaning on Sans' bed, his head resting against his brother's arm.

"Hmm? Wha?" he mumbled as he stirred, barely lifting his head off of the bed "N-no…I'm okay here, really…"

"Come on…" she smiled gently as she helped him to stand "At least sleep in the chair, you'll be a lot more comfortable."

She carefully led him towards the pain, white armchair which sat in the corner of the room. Once she had him sitting down, she fetched a spare blanket and pillow from the cupboard on the wall and tucked the skeleton in as snug as she could.

"There, that's better…" she smiled as she placed her hand on his forehead "How are you feeling? You're fever has gone down!"

"I'm okay…just tired…" sighed Papyrus as he looked over to his brother "I can't sleep…what if he wakes up?"

"Don't you worry…those machines will beep if anything happens…and I'm right in the next room so if you guys need ANYTHING just yell, okay?"

"Okay…thank you Alphys…for everything" he gave her a warm smile before finally falling to sleep.

 **Papyrus had only been asleep for a few hours before he was woken up by the violent beeping of the machines.**  
Without even thinking, he leapt to his feet and rushed to his brother's bedside.  
Sans was still motionless and silent yet, according to the monitors, his heart rate was through the roof.  
Panicking, papyrus grabbed his brother's hand and tried to get through to him.

"SANS?!" he cried desperately "BROTHER?!"

No response as expected so instead Papyrus began to scream for Alphys who arrived only moments later.  
Checking the machines, she was clearly puzzled.

"Is he having a seizure?!" cried Papyrus

"N-no…I'm not sure what's going on!" Alphys fretted as she checked everything it could possibly be.  
She checked his temperature, shone lights into his eye sockets, pinched and prodded his bones to see if any reflex reactions would occur but there was nothing. It was almost as if his heart had gone into overdrive yet he still remained silent and completely still.  
Then, Papyrus heard something almost familiar. He could hear a quiet but noticeable thud coming from his brother and he knew exactly what it was. It was the sound of his brother's heart beating against his ribcage…  
Papyrus knew there was only one reason he would be hearing this…

"Oh my god…" he whimpered "He's…having a nightmare!"

"He's what?!" gasped Alphys, shocked at the fact that even whilst in a coma, Sans would still be able to have nightmares.

Still gripping his brother's hand, he knew that this was going to be more of a challenge as he wasn't exactly how much his brother was going to hear. Still, he had to try.

"Sans, listen to me!" he smiled as he rested his forehead against his brother's, and placed his other hand against his cheek. "I'm right here with you, brother…I'm right here…"

Sans' rapid heart rate was worrying Alphys. If it kept rising she knew he could easily wear his body out and with how weakened he was, she worried it could even lead to him having a heart attack.

"We have to calm him down!" she fretted as she began rummaging through her medical bag which had been left nearby just in case of an emergency. "I've got to have SOMETHING in here. A sedative, anything!"

"No! I can calm him down!" snapped Papyrus "If I'm careful not to remove any of these wires, can I sit with him on the bed?!"

Though she was unsure about whether or not this was a good idea, she nodded solemnly.  
With Alphys' reluctant blessing, Papyrus wasted no time. Carefully avoiding catching any of the wires, he climbed onto the bed. He gently pulled his brother into a warm hug, protectively wrapping his arms around his shoulders. Though he had done this many times in the past, it was strange to not feel his brother hugging back. Usually, Sans would be gripping on to his brother for dear life, crying and sometimes even forgetting to breathe but not this time. This time, Sans fell limp in his arms, so limp in fact Papyrus had to support his head with the crook of his arm, almost as if he was cradling an infant.

"It's okay, brother…" he shushed, rocking him gently "I wish you could tell me what's frightened you…but just know that _you're_ okay and _I'm_ okay…we're both safe and we're both here together…"

Sans' heart rate continued to climb, trying to keep himself calm, Papyrus carried on trying to sooth his brother.

"Come on…let's do your grounding, okay?" he smiled as he placed a subtle, comforting kiss on the top of his brother's skull. He knew he'd have to adapt his technique this time "I'll tell you three things I can see, two things I can feel and one thing I know for a fact, okay?"

Still no change in heart rate.

"Papyrus, you have to work quickly!" fretted Alphys "I don't know how much more his body can take!"

"It's okay…" he smiled at her "We've done this lots of times, haven't we Sans…now, I can see Dr Alphys over there, she's been here all this time checking in on you and taking care of you. I can see you, brother…you seem so tiny and weak but I know you're super amazing and super strong and I can see me…in that mirror on the wall facing the bed. I'm holding you close in my arms, keeping you safe and giving you the biggest hug"

Sans' heart rate changed, still rapid but noticeably steadying. Noticing this, Papyrus kept on going.

"Now…two things I can feel…" he smiled "I can feel these wires that are stuck to you…they're annoying but they're helping you get better, so you don't need to worry about a silly thing like dying because these wires are keeping you as safe as I am. I can feel your heart beating against your ribs, brother…you really need to calm down or you're going to make yourself a lot worse…"

Alphys was flabbergasted. Sans' heart rate continued to steady and appeared to be coming back down to a normal level.

"Keep going, Pap!" she gasped "It's working!"

"Okay, ready Sans?" Papyrus sighed happily as relieved tears began to fill his eye sockets "The one thing I know for a fact is that you are my amazing big brother! I look up to you more than anyone else in the world and you're the one who made me who I am today! The reason I'm The Great Papyrus is because I was raised by The Amazing Sans!"

Finally, the steady beeps from the machines had returned. Alphys smiled at Papyrus, letting him know that it was all okay now, Sans was safe.  
Taking this as his cue to stop, Papyrus gently clambered off of the bed, laying Sans back down in the process. Once he was sure his brother was comfortable, he rested his head against his once again.

"Well done, brother!" he beamed proudly with happy tears finally falling from his eye sockets "you were so brave, I'm so proud of you!"

"Heart rate stabilised!" Alphys smiled as she checked all of the machines "He's calm again so he should be okay now…well done Pap!"

"Do you think he could hear me?" he asked hopefully

"I bet he heard every word!" she smiled back

Finding comfort in her words, Papyrus had a tired but true smile, beaming from cheekbone to cheekbone. He glanced down at Sans who was still motionless but now he had hope for the first time in ages that his brother was still there and that he was going to get better. After this stressful event though, he began to feel as if it was taking its toll on him. He had indeed recovered from the virus but it'd taken a lot out of him and he was still rather weak which hadn't gone un-noticed by Alphys.

"Come on, hero." she smiled as she patted him on the back "Back to your chair, you both need your rest.!"

He wasn't going to argue with her.

"Goodnight Sans. I'll be right over there if you need me, okay?" he smiled at his brother as he stroked his cheekbone "I love you, brother…"

On that note, Papyrus dragged himself back to the armchair and snuggled underneath the blanket, resting his head against the pillow and listening to the hums and beeps of the machines until he finally fell asleep.


End file.
